Through the Wolfs Eyes
by AccaliaTheWolverine
Summary: After Civil War all Tony needs is a friend to help him through a hard time. He turns to his best friend from his youth, a mutant and his long time bussiness partner Emily. Together with the remaining Avengers and some others they face their everyday struggles, the aftermath of the civil war and prepare for a battle that will change everything. AU, Contains spoilers, My first story
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers nor anything in the Marvel related. The only thing I own is my OC Emilianne and GNC.**_

 _ **Most of this story is written from Emily's POV. Main plot is set around Emily's relationship with Tony, Tony's struggle with the aftermath of the battle with Cap and coping with his parents deaths once again, the Sokovia accords and their consequences, the Avengers becoming more like a family, preparing to figth their greatest enemy yet and making unexpected allies along the way all while living their lives.  
There will be a lot of domestic life, be warned, but also battles, emotions, heartbreak, asgardian gods, magic etc. **_

_**Prologue**_

At some point of life, everyone takes a look back to see what he has done so far, what he's been through and how he got to this point of life. Here I am sitting in my office, looking out of the window, doing exactly this…Perhaps I should introduce myself first.

My name is Emilianne Accalia Stark and I was born on the 19th of March 1897 as the crown princess of a giant monarchy. Mom was from Norway, dad from Austria. She was killed when I was 17 and not long after, I ran away (shortly before WWI started) taking my diadem with me to make it look like a kidnapping. It worked out. You probably wonder why I ran away in the first place. At the age of 12 I started to hear voices of other people in my head and not only that. I could move things around with my mind and all of my wounds seemed to heal almost instantly. My mom, Ylva, once saw it and said it was my legacy, that one day she will tell me why I have it. The day never came...

I boarded a ship that was the end of Her Majesty Princess Emilianna Accalia Charlotte Amalie I. The ship sealed to Canada where I started a new life as Rose Stark (because I love stars and with the k, it means strong in German). I later changed it to Emilianne Accalia Stark and it stuck ever since. As the years went by, I learned to do many things and fell in love. His name was James Howlett, but he went by Logan more often. He was a soldier; I worked in the field hospital. We were engaged, but then he was sent to the Pacific front to fight Japan and I never saw him again. All I knew was that he went MIA. A couple of other things happened back then, but I don't like talking about those, they're too sad.

Not many interesting things happened since then. I had this dream of flying into space, so I joined the Air force. I made great friends there, but never actually flew into space. I mostly stuck to doing research, but was also involved in action. I didn't like it, so I retired to spend more time in the company I founded 50 years ago with my friend Elisabeth. Lizzie was really like a mother to me. We made planes, engines and research, ended up supplying the army with transport planes. I renamed the company 30 years ago and GlobalNet Corporation or GNC for short was born. Lizzie died of cancer 4 years later. Since then we worked on some top secret government project and built our own spaceship fleet, so my dream finally came true.  
You probably already guessed that I'm no ordinary human. The truth is I'm a mutant. A class 7 mutant with the powers of telepathy, telekinesis, empathy, a healing factor, pretty claws and water manipulation. I stopped aging and even 100 years later I still look like a 16 year old. And I also got experimented on. My entire skeleton is covered in adamantium-vibranium alloy. Strong, flexible, unbreakable it allows me to morph into a wolf.

27 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to get a degree in physics and IT. I went to the MIT, with a new ID of the 16 year old Emilianna A. Stark, the heir of GNC, whose mother Elisabeth died leaving her young daughter to lead the biggest tech company of that time...bla, bla, bla, you get it.  
My colleagues and friends came up with that cover couple of years back together with Lizzie, because it would be too weird if the owner didn't change for so long. Since Liz never had kids she always said I was the daughter she always wanted. She died of cancer when I was officially 16, so the year 1989 which made me 92 in reality. So much about weird life. I still miss Lizzie terribly. Still, since my Air Force friends and other friends in high places knew my actual age, there were no problems with a "kid" leading the company. Or the company's special teams, which were and still are helping the police or firefighters when needed. Sometimes even the army asks for help, or we provide security to some big occasions or ceremony worldwide. I'm not talking about 2 or 3 teams here; there are about 200 teams all around the world. Nowadays they are known as the IPA or International Peacekeeping Alliance, which operates under the UN, because it made more sense than to negotiate with every single one of the countries governments to allow us to do our jobs. Now I'm jumping too much to different topics. Details later.

Well, back to the MIT. That was the place I met a quite handsome young man, who is now my best friend, named Anthony E. Stark. Yep, that one. We had couple of classes together and we hated each other. For him I was the nerd, for me he was this annoying arrogant guy who always wanted all the attention he could get and I was a loner, always stuck somewhere on the outside. How did we actually become best friends? We got paired up on a project together, against our will as you can probably imagine. The project was to make the best robot possible using cheap and simple material. So basically do something big out of nothing. And our professor thought it would be great fun to team us up as he said: "The small kids will work together whether they like it or not!" Fun for whom was the right question. We set up a lab in the house I lived. It was located in the outskirts of town in a quite neighborhood, had a garage, a big garden and a small landing place for a helicopter, since the GNC headquarters were located between New York and Washington.

Anyway to cut the long story short, the first evening we went to my place to start working. We finally exited the workshop in the basement hours later only to find out a large storm had gone off. This meant we were stuck together for the next couple of hours. Eventually we started talking and came to the conclusion that we had a lot more in common than we originally thought.

As the days went by, we became closer and spent a lot of time together, much to dismay of Tony´s friends, except Rhodey. We even went to visit his parents a couple of times and I took him to GNC. We stuck together through good and bad and still do. We always had this brother-sister kind of relationship, even after all those years, Tony never got out of friend zone. Not that he didn´t try, though.

You probably know that Tony became Iron Man. My alter ego's name is Wolverine, because in old English it meant little Wolf. That doesn't actually matter since my teammates call me mostly Ace, Acey, Wolvie or Puppy. Don't ask why, they said wolverine was just too long. God knows what really is behind it.

A lot happened since we graduated, but where would be the fun if I told you everything straight out, right?


	2. Life at GNC

**Formerly chapters 1 and 2: Darkness in my eyes and Chaotic Friday.**

Chapter 1 - Life at GNC

"You're sure it's safe?" asked John, one of my friends and teammates. The "nope" he received wasn't most likely the thing he wanted to hear, but at least it was true. We were preparing to jump from a plane on the roof of a heavily guarded building in the cover of the night. Sounds easy, right?

How did we get into this situation in the first place? As I already mentioned, we sometimes get called for missions by the UN. This was one to capture an underground boss who was supposedly planning to blow up the next peace conference and threatened some leaders.

Location: Singapore; Plan: Find, catch and put in jail. Simple? He just had to hide in a giant skyscraper with guards and a massive concrete wall all around.

We landed on the roof as quiet as possible and proceeded in groups. Group one, led by me, through vents and group two, led by John, took the stairs. Just like on every mission of ours, each team member has a camera attached to the suit. The footage would make great action movies. Ok, so first thing was to take out the security cameras, and let group two in. A couple of swift movements of legs later the guards in the security room were out and we were in the system. Cameras off, doors open, system overridden and off we go to meet the rest of the team. Knocking out more guards on the way we finally made it to the room our dear "friend" was occupying. We didn't bother to knock on the door and entered the room. It surprised me a little that he was there alone, but it made our job a lot easier. Not that he was happy to see us.

After leaving the building and handing our captive over to the right people we headed back home. We took off and I said: "Great job guys, you have the day off tomorrow. Don't you dare to come to work, understood?" Of course they did. We landed in our HQ and after the short debriefing headed each to our own home to get some sleep.

I didn't get much sleep that night, I just couldn't. There are those times my past comes back to haunt me and there are also times the future does the same thing, but sometimes they are just nightmares. This time they kept me up all night. At 5AM I gave up the battle to get fall asleep, got dressed and headed to my office underneath my apartment. Normal working hours here are from 9AM to 4PM which made the building empty and quite. It was Monday, the paperwork day. Let me explain. For all the paperwork that collects itself during the week – contracts, bills, invoices, charts, diagrams and other boring stuff I have to look at and sign- is what I do on Mondays. Because now "I hate Mondays" gets a really deep meaning that way. By the time I finished, it was already 10AM.

Leaving the office, I greeted my secretary Katie: "Hi, Katie! How was the weekend?" "Fine, I suppose. We went to visit my parents and nothing bad happened so fine. Yours?" "We had a mission in Singapore but otherwise boring."

"That explains the absence of the boys at work today." We laughed. Here at GNC we are all friends. It's great having boys and girls, humans and mutants working and living together in harmony. Next thing on my to-do list was to visit the factories, research labs and other parts of the company in the area. After finishing the tour, Tony called to confirm the meeting on Friday. Weird, normally it would be Pepper. I know things changed after The Sokovia Accords were introduced. The Avengers fell apart. Rhodey, Vision and Tony were the only ones left. Spider-Man went back to aunty May. The others were nowhere to be found. Not that it was impossible, but it' not like anyone except Ross tried hard. Tony was still depressed after learning the truth about his parents' death. I mean who wouldn't be?

The rest of the day went by without anything interesting happening. I climbed on the roof of the office building. The sunset is beautiful from there. It's May, days are getting longer. Yet the darkness is slowly coming. I see my empire colored by the warm sun slowly fading into the cold darkness. Sometimes I just sit here and wait until all the lights go out. Then the stars come out, reflecting in my turquoise colored eyes.

Another ordinary day behind me. I sit there till sunrise. There is still darkness in my eyes mirroring memories long forgotten, friends and family lost. For some reason sunrise fills me with hope, because whatever happens, no matter how bad things turn out the sun will always come out…

The rest of the week was boring, so I'll just jump straight to Friday. It was, well, chaotic. My phone rang at 3AM. A kidnapping, robbery and thief chasing later we finally returned to base. It was 5AM by than which meant I didn't even bother to try to go back to bed. So after a shower I went straight to my office to go over contracts and because I was bored I managed to go over all the paperwork prepared for Monday. My first meeting started at 10AM with a company from Chicago. They wanted to rent a big transporter to fly some components to India and back. Approved, flight scheduled two weeks from now. The next meeting wasn't that formal. Just my boys and I going over next year's EXPO plans. New jets and planes, new engine types... all of this in our pavilion. Thank god, we're doing this together with Stark Industries, which is why Tony's coming over in the afternoon to discuss everything further. Later I had two meetings in Washington. One was with the government about mutant affaires as they call it, the other with the military about new transport jets. Back at GNC there was a videoconference waiting to start with the UN committee. Sokovia accords, superhuman registration, they just wanted to know what I thought of the outcome. My teams already had a registration with permission to operate worldwide and since we don't cause unnecessary damage and clean up after ourselves, they let us work freely. I think the Sokovia accords were a good idea. Those who signed it showed that they respect the member countries of the UN and are willing to make compromises and take responsibility for their actions. Two weeks ago I got offered the position of the ambassador for mutant and superhuman rights and affaires, MSR for short. The conference ended with polite greetings and smiles.

Anyway, my BFF Tony came over after that. Since it was the last meeting for the day we moved it to the living room and forgot about formalities completely. We sat on the couch and talked a lot about the EXPO, business, saving the world…but Tony seemed off all the time. He was unusually quite.

"You know I know when something is wrong, Tony. Do you want to talk about it? It would help you." He looked at me with those big eyes of his and then continued to stare onto the opposite wall for the next 2 minutes. Then he leaned back, looked me in the eyes and said:"Pepper and I broke up. This time for good. Not just taking a break." "I'm sorry Tony. You two were cute together. Can I help you somehow?" Tony loved Pepper very much and she loved him. Tony's eyes watered up when he started to talk about the breakup. We talked the whole night through, eventually ended up asleep on the couch. This is going to be a long weekend. But at least we agreed on spending it together.


	3. Saturday's blues, Sunday's adventures

_**Chapter 3 – Saturday's blues, Sunday's adventures and Monday's free time**_

We shouldn't have drunk that much beer. I can't get drunk but Tony's definitely going to have a hangover. Given the circumstances, it's acceptable. I better fix some breakfast and get painkillers from the cabinet, where I keep them for cases like this. I covered him with a blanket and made my way to the kitchen.  
While I was making breakfast, Tony woke up. I pointed him straight to the glass of water and pills which he thankfully accepted. After eating up breakfast, we showered (in 2 separate bathrooms if anyone's interested), changed clothes (yes, Tony has spare clothes here, it's not the first sleepover we had) and somehow ended up going to Disneyland. Don't ask why, it just seemed like a good idea at the time. It was Tony's idea by the way. But, why not, he needs to get away a little and so do I. So Tony disguised himself as not himself (he shaved his face, works every time), we loaded a small car in the plane and headed across the country to Anaheim in California. After 15 minutes of flight (yes, my jets are fast, but I can't tell why) we landed on a private SI airport and drove to Disneyland. We spent the most of the day there; it was like the old times when we were still students.

Since Tony loves to scare me and/or drive me crazy and knows my biggest enemy in parks like this is a rollercoaster, guess where he made me go first? Yes, it was a rollercoaster ride! When he was satisfied with the outcome of his actions, we took a long walk around the whole complex, tried out other attractions and talked. Turns out him and Pep broke up because, I quote "she couldn't handle the stress of being CEO, worrying about Tony and his careless childish behavior and constantly getting himself in life threatening situations". Sad, they seemed cute together, but I get what she meant. Some of my teammates went through relationship crisis for similar reasons, but it mostly didn't end in break-ups. That, my friends, is one of the perks of being single, nobody stresses because of me and no relationship crisis for me too.

We decided to spend the rest of the weekend in California, in Tony's newly build mansion. After dinner, which consisted of pizza, drinks and ice-cream we watched movies, remembered our pasts and MIT years looking through old pictures and we ended up looking at stars at night. We fell asleep around 3AM but this time in bed, not on the couch.

After a quite normal breakfast things went crazy. More or less. We took the car to the airport and took off with the plane. Where to? Well, some of us have weird ideas for spending Sundays. Let me explain. Someone and it wasn't me, said this morning:"Hey, that thing of yours can fly pretty fast right?" I nodded and he continued:"So we could possibly fly to Hawaii and Australia and still be back before midnight?" I nodded again. The possibility was there, since it would take about 20 minutes to Hawaii and another 20 from there to Australia and it was only 9AM. "Great, let's pack some things and go!" said Tony with a satisfied grin on his face. Now I realized what I actually agreed on.

There we were 30 minutes later preparing to take off from the private airport to Hawaii. While Tony was loading everything into the jet, I called Katie, informed her of everything important and asked her to clear my schedule for tomorrow, in case Tony has more brilliant ideas like this.

Thank god GNC has an outpost in Hawaii and in Australia, too. I really prefer using private airports, mostly those that belong to me. It usually saves me a lot of stress and phone calls and paperwork with sudden trips like this. Sitting in a plane with nothing but the large blue Pacific Ocean beneath us, we just enjoyed the flight.

The sunny day in Hawaii, lying on Waikiki and sipping drinks was really great. I'm actually starting to think in was a good idea to come here all of sudden. Tony behaved like a big kid. He buried me in sand once or twice and we built a sand castle, kind of. It looked like a mountain, not a castle. I got thrown into the water. He got it back. At least his mood is good and he doesn't have depressions or worse, suicidal thoughts. Trust me; you wouldn't want to see what I saw all those years ago.

At about 2PM we headed to Australia, where we spend the time we had left. We visited the Great Barrier Reef, Sydney and so on… In other words we went sightseeing. And Tony rescued me from a giant spider. It was black and fluffy and big and scary and … harmless. At least he got to be the hero of the day. Not the spider, Tony. I hate spiders and snakes, they are scary. He got a kiss on the cheek for the rescue.

We headed back home at about 10PM. I have no idea what time it was in Australia since none of us bothered to make Jarvis change the time. Yup, I got Jarvis as a birthday present from Tony this year. He said it would be weird to use him since they have Vision now, so he uses Friday instead. Same systems, different voice, cool.

After a quick stop in California to load the car back on board we headed home, to GNC and my house near the forest.

It was now 2AM and we finally made it back from our little trip. We drove from the airport because it's not exactly close to my house or anything for safety reasons. We had to get to the HQ's main gate and then take the long empty road through the dark forest. For me it is a place where I spend my free time or a place I go to when I have to think about things. It is a place I'm happy to call home almost 2km from the main gate and any other building of the complex. I think I never mentioned how the GNC HQs looks like. Well, first of all, the whole ensemble of buildings and the grounds that belong to them are protected by a shield. You can't see it but it's there. The only possibility to enter the HQs is through the guarded main entrance. Right next to it is the office building. It's a 9 storey building; the ninth floor is my apartment. Next to the offices is the HQ for my team, which is a 2-storey building with underground training facilities- a simulation room, briefing rooms, a computer room to have everything in check. The next building looks like a big ball. The entry there is through an underground tunnel from the training facility. It is used to take my telepathic abilities and track or keep an eye on people all around the globe. This is how it got its name- The GLOBE. Then there are the factories where people work, the living quarters big enough for 300 inhabitants, some shops, a hospital, three schools - preschool, elementary and high school and a collage with education especially made for working here.

The next thing on the list is the airport. It has 3 hangars and more parking for mission jets underground. Currently we have 4 transporters and one private plane available for renting and public use (sometimes we make field trips for people here) and my own private jet called Fliper. Underground there are the mission jets. Now the fleet consists of four Shadow jets and two cargo versions of this type. There are expansion plans already made for this fleet for next year hopefully. That means I get to be test pilot for a whole year until we get the new baby to perfection. Behind the airport the forest begins. It covers about one third of the grounds. It's very beautiful. There is a hidden waterfall in it, but no one except me goes there. I'm sort of attracted to the place; it has some sort of energy I cannot resist. It might have something to do with the cave behind the waterfall. For some reason only I am able to enter it and for some even weirder reason my life is craved on the walls of it. This cave is one of the places I talk to my alter ego, Accalia, the spirit of the wolf. She's strong at night. Then there is the White Phoenix. She's the strongest during the day.

Anyway, we came home, dropped our bags on the floor and ourselves on the bed, where we stayed till noon. The weekend that started out chaotic and sad ended up being very a funny, relaxed and awesome time spent together…


	4. Meeting the Avengers

Chapter 4 –Meeting the Avengers (or what's left of them)

"By the way thank you, the weekend was awesome. You know you didn't have to do this, right." "I'm glad you enjoyed it. You'd do the same for me T., wouldn't you?" The smile that appeared on his face was answer enough. "Now get in the car, we're going to the Avengers HQ, the boys are definitely worried about you."

As we sat down in the car Tony started his philosophical thinking process: "You know, Vision isn't human, so you can't really call him boy, Elianne." That is a nickname he only uses when we're alone and he wants to tease for I don't like it, which is good right now because it means his mood is very, very good. Let the word game begin: "And I'm from earth and you still call me alien." "No I call you Elianne, with an E as in E-L-I-A-N-N-E." He invented it when we were still students. "Ok, Tiger, now will you tell me finally how you came up with it. Because I have the feeling you didn't just shorten Emilianne. That would be so not you." "Sure, I'll tell you," a faint glimmer of hope to solve the big mystery appeared," but not yet. Be patient my dear Emi, The time will come." Aaand the glimmer was gone. "This sounds reasonable coming from the most impatient person in the world. What is such a big deal about it anyway?" He's really not that bad, he can be patient if he wants to, but you don't want to have him in briefings. "As I said, when the time is right I'll tell you."

This kind of conversation went on and on for the entire drive, so after about 20 minutes later we finally arrived at the complex. Rhodey greeted us as we exited the car: "Man, don't ever scare us like that. Disappearing without trace is no fun man. Pepper already called, sorry about that. But I see you were in good hands. Hi, Emily! " I stepped out from behind Tony: "Hey, Rhodey! Long time no see, how are you recovering?" "Fine, thanks to Mr. Stank here." I burst out laughing. Rhodey and Tony joined in. After a while, Tony said: "Now come on, let's go inside so Emi here can finally be introduced to Vision." Spider-man I already encountered in the streets of New York, but I had yet to meet Vision or the Jarvis humanlike version in person.

The red/green android sat on the couch when we entered. He immediately stood up and turned around. "Hello, I'm Emily and you must be Vision. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." I was amazed, I mean how many times do you get to meet an android and I don't count the one on your Smartphone. "Hello, I'm pleased to meet you, too. Mr. Rhodes has been asking Mr. Stark to bring you here for a long time. I can see why, you seem to be good friends." Okay, now I'm blushing. This day is slowly getting weird. Then Tony cut in: "And she can do the same things you can." What's he talking about? "Is she like Wanda?" Who? "Yes and no. While Wanda's abilities were artificial, Emily's are a naturally occurring genetic mutation. A strong one I may add." Ahh, Wanda's the girl whom Strucker experimented on. Now that I'm in the pictures, I'll just skip to something my mind's been playing with since last week. "So, you guys are what's left of the Avengers?" Ok, that was a bit insensitive. Three heads turn at me. Time for a quick save. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I wanted to give you an alternative to working like this, to the Sokovia Accords." I stopped. It caught their interest. Tony, probably already suspecting what I had in mind, said: "Keep going." "Okay, so I have a company, GNC, which has teams that operate under the UN. There are 4 teams stationed here currently, other around 200 all around the world. The point is we don't have the Sokovia accords; we have different ones and are basically free. If you want to, I could get you transferred under me and you would become part of the International Peacekeeping Alliance. It's just an offer; you don't have to accept it." Even though the whole Sokovia accords fiasco happened months ago, it still feels like rushing things. But I mean, they are 3, 4 sometimes.

After a few minutes of silence Rhodey spoke: "We'll talk it through and let you know. But it sounds good. It's not that we can do much right now on our own. You are giving us a great opportunity."

I finally got a tour of the facility. I'm impressed, the grounds are bigger than I thought they would be and from the architectonical point of view it is simple and modern. Good job, whoever designed it. But there was something about this place I didn't like – the emptiness, loneliness of it. Once a home for teammates and friends, full of life was now a lonely place for the group of friends, the remaining members of the once Earth's Mightiest Heroes team. Sure, the scientists, former Shield agents, Fury and the rest who occupied the buildings stayed, but it definitely wasn't the same.

We can't bring them back yet, they would be arrested. Ross is probably the only person who wants this. The official investigation of the incident has started, right now, we can only wait.

But, I know there is one person in this world the guys would be happy to see and he can still come to the country legally. All I have to do is to find him and bring him here. I doubt it is going to be easy, but if it helps, let's do it!


	5. Time with my new friends

Chapter 5 – Time with my new friends

It's been three months since I met the team. Since then I became friends or something like that with Vision and the other inhabitants of the Avengers HQ, the guys accepted my offer to enter the IPA a month ago and they come by for training sometimes. Rhodey's walking on his own again! That was the best news of last week. He had a special surgery two months ago and went to a specialist to learn to walk again. We celebrated Tony's birthday, just a small party though. He didn't want something big after what happened.

I also talked to Pepper a couple of times. She was dating someone, said it was as serious as a heart attack. Damn, I was kind of hoping to get her and Tony back together. So this plan failed obviously or did it? I got my answer today. Yes, it did. I was going through my mail and came across an envelope. It was a white one that had pretty golden ornaments on it. Inside was a wedding invitation. "What?!" I exclaimed so loud that Katie came through the door: "Something wrong?" "Not exactly wrong, but it was definitely unexpected." I answered. "What is it then? Are you pregnant?" she asked. "No, I'm not. I haven't had a boyfriend since, I think almost 20 years ago. But take a look at this." Katie came closer and I shoved her the pretty piece of paper I held in my hand. It said:

Friends forever we'll always be  
as we join together in harmony

Virginia Potts  
and  
Harold Hogan  
invite you to join the celebration  
as they tie the knot  
30th of August at 12AM  
Grace Church  
 _802 Broadway_  
 _New York, NY 10003_

This was unexpected to say at least. But sure, just keep calm and breathe through. Happy began to exercise much a couple of years ago and he was really a handsome man now. He and Pepper did spend much time together at work so maybe their relationship wasn't that surprising. But the line that followed was what really got me:

The reception will follow immediately at the Stark Tower.

At the Stark Tower?! Whose idea was this? Ok, calm down girl. Maybe it is a joke of some sort or something. I mean who holds a reception in a building that belongs to the brides ex-boyfriend. True, Pepper didn't know about Tony's depressions, but still it is weird if nothing else.

A call an hour later answered all of my questions. It was Tony Stark himself. "Hello sweetheart! Did you get the invitation, too?" "Yes, I did. You knew about it?" "Yep, Pepper came by like two weeks ago telling me that her and Happy were getting married. I asked where the reception was going to be, and she didn't know and so I told her to use the Stark Tower for it, since it had a big hall ideal for a wedding reception and a dance floor and so on. She was really thankful. They couldn't find a place for it and…" Now it makes sense. I knew it couldn't have been Peppers idea. How did he even say such a long sentence so fast without stopping for air? "Tony, remember to breathe. And I don't really believe you wanted to talk about the wedding, did you? So why did you call? Or do you just miss me?" "I do miss you, Emi. But you got me. I have a side motive. Will you be my date for the wedding? Please? I need my BFF there, come on." I rolled my eyes and cut him off before he could start with another sentence: "If you finally shut up, I'll answer you." "Yes ma'am!" "Ok, the answer is yes, I'll be your wedding date." "Awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you! See you in the evening. Bye!" He shut the phone before I could even react. I held mine a meter away from my ear. I think it is something not only a mutant with heightened senses, but also an ordinary human would do. An excited Tony equals a very loud Tony.

The rest of the day went by quickly. At around 4PM I closed my office and headed to the apartment upstairs. I showered and changed out of the formal outfit and high heels I hate so much into more comfortable jeans and a t-shirt and headed to my car. The drive to the facility was long, instead of 20 minutes it took twice as much. I got stuck in a traffic jam when passing New York. By the time I arrived it was half past 5PM and Tony was nervously pacing back and forth at the entrance: "What took you so long? You should have been here like 10 minutes ago."I rolled my eyes as I exited the car: "Funny, coming from a person who's never coming on time. I was stuck in traffic for 20 minutes."

Entering the living quarters we were welcomed by Vision and Rhodey, we exchanged hugs and sat down on the couch to watch movies. Movie night became a tradition of some sort. We'd have one every week and it is always fun to hang out. This time even Fury and Maria Hill joined us.

After the movie ended, we talked about the upcoming wedding. All of us were invited, but Vision and Rhodey said they wouldn't go as they already made plans to visit the military base Rhodes used to be stationed. The wedding was next week on Saturday, today was Thursday and I had the day off tomorrow to stay with my new team, since all teams of the IPA work under me. We do have a command structure similar to the Air Force. So me as the big boss, a commander for the station, in NY it's John and each branch office of GNC has its own, then you have the commanders of each separate team and a second in command for each case. The Avengers are an exception. Normally those teams consist of 9 to 12 people and they are 3 actual Avengers here and Spider-Man. There are 3 reasons I'm on the team. The first was it had too few members; second being a condition of the UN to teach them not to cause much damage (I had to report they work under me now) and the third one was that the boys wanted me to; it was their condition on signing the GNC accords. I need a bit more action in my life, so it wasn't hard to agree on that.

Anyway, where was I? Right we talked about the wedding. So Fury and Hill will be going together. I wonder if there is something there that wasn't there before.

I mentioned I wanted to find someone previously. That was my secret evil plan. But during those three months I hardly had any free time. All those meetings and business trips, missions, UN summits and military and plane demonstrations were tiring me out. At least it is over now. So after the wedding I'm going to continue on my evil little plan. What is it, you ask? Find a long lost member of the Avengers, a friend to the boys, a genius in biochemistry, nuclear physics and gamma radiation and the co-creator of Vision. You guessed it, no one other than Dr. Bruce Banner aka The Hulk. Just how do I get him to come back voluntary?


	6. Of memories and weddings

Chapter 6- Of memories and weddings

 **Note: This chapter is a bit (a lot) longer than the previous ones. It does deal with topics like suicide and death too (but only a short part of it), so be warned. Other than that it is pretty sappy and contains more information on the background of Tony's and Emily's relationship. Because I was too lazy to write about the dresses and to be honest fashion is not my strongest suit, the links below will show you the pictures.**

(Emily's bridesmaid dress: g02. . )

(Pepper's wedding dress: /wp-content/uploads/2015/12/0227-gwyneth-paltrow-tom-ford-oscars-2012-academy-awards-dresses_ )

 **Enough from me, enjoy the story!**

It was the day of Peppers wedding. I was standing in my room in front of the mirror adjusting my dress. Pepper asked me to be one of her bridesmaid. The dress was one of those 2in1. You know, it is short but you can attach a long skirt to it. For the ceremony Pepper wanted the long option, after that it is up to us. My normally wild, reddish brown hair was in an elegant low bun. "Are you ready?" came a voice from behind me. It was Tony; he was supposed to pick me up in like 20 minutes. I can't help but have the feeling something is seriously wrong. "Almost, I'll just do my make-up and we are ready to go." I said with a smile. He returned it and said: "You know you don't need it, you are beautiful enough without it." I would say I blushed, but I was definitely as red as a tomato. "Thank you, Tony. Don't worry I'll clean my face right after the ceremony." With that I disappeared in the bathroom and came out about 5 minutes later. I didn't bother much, just lip-gloss, mascara and the dark blue eye shadow Pepper insisted on for some reason. Tony was already nervously pacing, so I just grabbed my purse and we left.

We parked in front of the church; Tony opened the door for me and helped me get out. It reminded me of the old times; Tony the gentleman, sweet and caring. He took my hand and we went to meet Pepper and Happy. Tony was one of Happy's best men. I went to the girl room, Tony to the men room. I knocked and entered. There stood Pepper in her long floor length white dress. It was simple and elegant. "You look beautiful, Pep." "Thank you." We talked for a few more minutes before Peppers father came and told her it was time. We gathered in front of the door and slowly the bridesmaids paired up with groomsmen began to enter the church. It was my turn. Tony came up to me and extended his arm. I took it and we walked down the aisle where the rest of the group and Happy were waiting. Then the music changed and Pepper with her father walked up to the front. Even though Tony tried to smile, in his eyes there was only sadness with a small glimmer of hope, which disappeared as soon as Pepper said yes.

The crowd cheered and clapped as Mr. and Mrs. Hogan kissed for the first time and Tony looked like he'd start to cry any second. But he didn't. After taking pictures everyone moved to Stark/Avengers Tower for the reception. There was dinner, the first dance, all the ladies in the room flirting with Tony and so on. Like a normal party.

Around midnight Tony disappeared to the elevator with this weird depressed look on his face. I went after him, only to find him standing on the edge of the rooftop. Then he let himself fall. I jumped after him and after using telekinesis to get us back to safety of the rooftop, we had a nice little talk:

"What the hell were you thinking? Or were you even thinking? Why did you do this, Tony?" My eyes started to water. I almost lost my best friend; just a second later and he'd be gone forever. The one that showed me how great life can be, the one who was like a big brother I never had, he was my best friend forever, the one I loved more than anything in this world. He looked up with watery eyes: "As if anyone would miss me… The Avengers are gone; Pepper is gone, all because of me. I messed up everything I possibly could. No one would miss me." My god, this is what he thought. He was lonely, depressed and this is possibly the worst combination ever. Tears started streaming down my face now; the last thing I want is to lose him.

"I would. You are my best friend Tony. I couldn´t make it without you. You may be an arrogant ass sometimes, but I still love you and I always will. After all those years I can't even imagine my life without you." He just looked me, hugged me and whispered into my ear: "I love you, too. Always have." We stayed in each other's embrace on the roof of the tower for a little while longer.

We moved to the living room and for the next hour we just held each other close. After that, when we were completely calmed down, Tony kissed my forehead and said: "Come on, let's go down. I still own you a dance." True, he promised to dance with me at the annual Moonlight ball we hold at GNC every year. He couldn't make it in the end.

We took the elevator down to the hall and Tony went straight to the D.J. I looked around the room. People happily chatting, couples dancing on the dance floor and none of them knew what had happened above their heads. I was torn out of my thoughts by Tony, who extended his hand towards me. He was always the kind of guy not good with words when it came to feelings, so if he wanted to express them, he used a song for it. I wonder what he chose and why?

The first notes of Bryan Adams' Please Forgive Me filled the air. The lights were turned low as we sway across the dance floor, looking deep in each other's eyes, almost forgetting the world around us. He pulled me closer so that my head rested in his shoulder and silently sang along with the song. It really felt like the good old times. Every single word, every single verse, everything about this song, I'm starting to understand why he chose it. I thought this ended when our ways parted.

Years I considered Tony my best friend, big brother and for all those years I thought he felt the same. There was something more over 25 years ago, but it disappeared, at least it seemed like it did.

For a moment I thought about how we were all those years ago, but can it still be? Does he really still love me like he said? "…Please forgive me; I can't stop loving you…" I closed my eyes and let silent tears fall and all those questions and memories came floating by. It's going to be 25 years next April, I wonder if he remembers the date. I smiled to myself. We were happy, so what went wrong? Why did we say goodbye to it? What went wrong? We were in a girlfriend/boyfriend kind of relationship for a few weeks back then. After months of persuading I agreed to give it a try. It started out great, sure, but then one June night I caught Tony making out with some girls. Ok, he was drunk, but it still hurt like hell. We had a fight and I left. We didn't see each other until December that year. During those months the anger I felt towards Tony disappeared, but the disappointment stayed. How could I have been so stupid to think someone could love a monster like me? Why did he make me believe he loved me only to hurt me? After I lost James, I didn't think I'd meet someone who would make me feel special. I was heartbroken and never allowed myself to break down my walls for anyone else. I didn't think I would ever feel loved again. But then Tony came, he slowly started to break down the walls I built around me during the decades. He actually succeeded but only to make me build them up again twice as strong. Since then I never let anyone to get under my skin, never again. I decided I'd be better off alone than hurt again.

Tony called me in December. It was the 17th of December 1991 early in the morning. The first thing he said was that he was sorry for what he did to me; then he told me what happened and asked if I could come over. His parents were dead. Died in a car accident, or so did everyone think. I was still disappointed and hurt, but none of that mattered back then. Without thinking I just jumped out of bed, dressed quickly and drove over to the Stark mansion. There, in the living room, on the couch next to the piano sat Tony. He was crying. I just sat down next to him and wrapped his arms around him. We cried together. I met Tony's parents a couple of times. His mother Maria was really sweet, caring and nice. She was a great person and I'm glad that, if nothing else, Tony inherited her personality and talent for music. His father, well, that is another story. He was a brilliant engineer and inventor, but he would probably gain the "World's worst dad" award. He was cold, didn't show his feelings, but maybe deep inside he wasn't that bad. Maybe…

So after that we stayed friends, eventually came back to the best friends forever status, but I didn't let him any closer. I couldn't.

I lifted my head off Tony's shoulder and look him in the eyes. Should I give him another chance? I mean everybody deserves it, so why not? He wants it, I can see it in his eyes, the glimmer of hope I saw disappear at the wedding ceremony is there, shining brighter than before. His eyes telling me he is very sorry for what he did. His fingers touch my face gently as he wipes away my tears. There in his warm brown eyes is the purest love I ever saw. He smiles gently and pulls me into a hug. We sway back and forth for a moment and then we look into each other's eyes again. Whoever said "Eyes are the windows into the persons soul" was most definitely right. It was as if the world around us just ceased to exist as we stared at each other for what seemed like eternity.

The spell was broken by the D.J. announcing it was time for the bride to throw the bouquet. We broke our trance and Tony led me off the dance floor with a smile. All the single ladies gathered behind Pepper, I just stood with Tony next to the wall chatting with Hill and Fury, who had this weird smirk on his face ever since we left the dance floor. Then something hit my shoulder and landed in my hands. I looked down at the thing I recognized as Peppers wedding bouquet. That would explain the death glares I received from the rest of the women. The fact that I stood next to Tony Stark didn't really help. Only Pepper smiled at me. How did the woman throw that thing this far I don't know, but I get the feeling it was on purpose. She's been trying to hook me up with someone for years. Did I miss something or what?

The party lasted until 4AM. Pepper and Happy left for their honeymoon; Hill, Fury, Tony and I occupied the living quarters of the tower. While everyone slept peacefully, I just couldn't, not after everything that happened within the last 24 hours. Why did he want to kill himself? Did he really think this world would be better off without him? I noticed something was off, this morning too, but… I should have spent more time with him. He had to have this planned. Why, Tony? Looks like I have more questions than answers.

As I was walking around the quarters I came to the living room. There I noticed something on the counter. A single red rose was placed there with an envelope with my name written on it in Tony's handwriting underneath. I opened it. Inside was a letter. With shaky hands I took it out and read:

 _Dearest Emily,_

 _If you are reading this, it means I'm probably dead. First of all, could you please apologize to Pepper for me; I kind of ruined her wedding. I didn't mean to, but well… I am sure you came here searching for me._

 _You have a lot of questions I suppose. Why I did this? In the last few years I caused nothing but trouble. Ultron is only one example of this. I tore the Avengers apart, broke Peppers heart and what is the worst, I hurt you. 24 years ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life by cheating on you. I am terribly sorry for that, but I think I should have said it when I had a chance. Too late now, isn't it. It is quite funny if you think about it. I spent years climbing the walls you built around yourself to get to know you, only jump from the top and hurt you even more. You get it? I jumped. I hope someday you will find the one who won't hurt you. Don't miss me much. I know you still love me and I want you to know that I love you too, always have and always will._

 _Now, let's go to the business part. I'm sure you suspect I planned it. Pepper quit her job at SI a few days ago. I updated my will. From now on Stark Industries belongs to you, please take care of my legacy. Yeah, now that I talk about it, everything I own is now yours. I know, I know. Material things were never something for you, but I am pretty sure you will take good care of my car collection; you love cars, don't you? As is the Iron Man suit and all blueprints and drafts and so on. I am giving my greatest creation to you; maybe you can make it even better. Once Rhodey gets better, give him the suit, he will continue this part._

 _I know you didn't want any of this, but you were all I had left and honestly I couldn't make Vision and Rhodey lead a company. Apologize to them for me please. They were good friends. I am sure one day the Avengers will be united again and I won't be there to ruin it in any way. I won't lead them to their end._

 _Now the most important part; you Emily were my sunshine. I did love Pepper, but what I felt for you was different. You were my friend, my little sister, my everything and I pushed you away. You always wondered how I came up with Elianne as a nickname. It was because you are so unique that you can't be from this planet, you must be an alien._

 _That is what had to be said and done. I love you, sweetie._

 _Forever yours_

 _A.E. Stark/ Tony_

 _P.S.: Sorry about the dance._

Tears were flowing freely down my face. I inspected the rose I held in the other hand. I was dark red and felt like velvet if you touched its petals. "I totally forgot to put it away, but I guess that doesn't matter anymore." Tony said making me jump.  
"Oh, Tony, why didn't you say something?" I looked him right in the eyes."Please don't do something like this ever again, next time something is wrong just talk to me or anyone. And remember one thing. You are not the reason bad things happen, it just is so. You, Tony, are the reason there is less bad in the world. Sure, you do mistakes and stupid things but who doesn't. It doesn't make you worse than anyone else."  
The tears continue to fall. He pulls me close, wraps his arms around me as I weep on his chest. "Shh, I didn't mean to make you cry. I hate to see you cry."  
"Then why did you jump?"  
"I don't know why I did, but I promise I won't do that again."  
"Don't you dare to break this promise, or I will come after you, trust me, I will." I said with a smile he returned…Together we watched the sun come out. After that Tony went inside and came out with a bottle of Champaign that remained from last night.  
"Here's to new beginnings and to us!"  
"To the best friend I ever had!" A big smile spread across Tony's face…


	7. Don't hulk out!

**This is a two part chapter: Part 1 is** _ **Chapter 7: Don't hulk out!**_ **And coming soon part 2 in** _ **Chapter 8: Here Kitty, Kitty!**_

Chapter 7- Don't hulk out!

After the wedding weekend things returned back to normal, more or less. Tony was nicely doing his CEO homework at the Avengers HQ, which now served as his temporary office. Why? I guess he felt lonely in the tower. Most of its floors were occupied by SI offices, but the upper levels remained living quarters and labs. But since the new HQ offered more space and comfort, no one lived in the tower anymore and so Tony moved his office there, too.

We never told the guys what happened Saturday night on the roof of the Avengers tower. Tony swore me to secrecy and I respected his decision. Not even Fury and Hill found out.

My missing person's case/evil little plan also finally progressed. I managed to track Bruce down on Tuesday. He was on some tiny island in the Pacific, somewhere near Fiji. The best thing about it, I had a business trip to Hawaii on Wednesday. Tony was supposed to have meetings all day so he wouldn't tag along. Great, I'll just put my uniform and some casual clothes in the plane too and off I go on my private little mission. Since I am allowed to bring in new scientists and/or potential new team members, this little adventure of mine won't cause any legal trouble.

Wednesday morning came fast and soon I found myself sitting in my beloved Flipper (Yes, I did name him after a dolphin, because I just love those smart creatures) on my way to Hawaii. After last month's modernization my sweetheart got not only a new image, but also some new features, including Jarvis as a companion and stealth mode.

After a vertical landing in Hawaii, which is awesome when you have limited space, I went straight to the meetings. It was 8AM here and they lasted till noon with a short 10 minute break at 10. That made my afternoon free for searching. So I took off to do so and traveled back in time, kind off.

Before landing Flipper on the island Bruce should be on, I did a quick scan of my surroundings. A volcano with a forest around, some tiny villages with people, beautiful beaches, a cliff and the deep blue sea. One half of the island is heading into a lagoon made by other islands. It looked peaceful and quiet, the perfect place to hide.

I used the unoccupied cleaning in the forest as a make-shift landing pad, changed into my uniform, turned stealth mode on and made my way through the rainforest. Passing the villages inconspicuously I searched for my target, the lost scientist I knew only for his work, which was great and some pictures Tony showed me when we were making a small "family" gallery in their HQ. With nothing to be found here, I made my way to the beach where I came across something interesting. By then I knew 2 things. Bruce is surely on this island and I have no freaking idea where. The thing I found was part of the Quinjet. It must have crash-landed somewhere 'because this part of the beach faced the lagoon. The small metal part lifted my spirits and I decided to continue my search along the beach since I already searched the entire forest anyway. My heightened senses made me enjoy the beach walk even more. No noise, no cars, minimal amount of people, just me, my own thoughts and emotions.

The sun slowly started to go down and I was close to giving up and make my way back to the jet, but I decided to go to the cliff and watch the sunset. It shouldn't be far away and it is the only part I haven't searched so far. But I decided I'll be more comfy in my casual clothes; black leggings and a long short-sleeved white top. So I went to change and returned to the same spot to continue my journey. By the time I reached the cliff, the sky had already been colored by orange and red. I really like watching this natural phenomenon; it gives a great opportunity to think about important things. Standing there with my arms crossed I thought whether or not to give Tony a second chance.

My chain of thoughts was torn by my ears picking up the sound of footsteps. Looks like I wasn't the only one who likes watching the sunset. I turned and saw a man approaching. He was definitely not from here for he didn't look even close to the villagers I saw. And I didn't stumble over a research station either. Why did I think that? I'd say it was probably because he had a lighter skin than them and the thing that assured me was that he was wearing clothes. He stopped about 2 meters from me and lifted his head. His face I recognized as the one in the pictures. It was Bruce Banner in person. Looks like I got lucky after all. I felt like jumping up and down from happiness, but since the last thing I needed was to scare him away, I just stood there silently letting my arms fall to the sides of my body. He inspected me for a second and then said: "I never saw you here before. You are not from here, are you?" It was more of a statement than a question. "True, did my paleness give me away?" I joked a bit. "I'd say so. I'm Bruce by the way." "Emily, it's nice to meet you." We shook hands and Bruce continued:"If you don't mind me asking, Emily, what is such a young girl like you doing alone in the middle of nowhere?" It was a shy question followed by a smile I returned and answered:"I could ask you the same thing, but since I don't like beating around the bush, I'll just tell you." I looked him in the eyes and motioned to the big grey rock. We sat down and I started my speech:"It's no accident that I'm here. I came to this island purposely to find you, maybe hoping to take you back to New York with me." "Who sent you?" he asked without taking his eyes off the beautiful sunset in front of us. "No one, I came on my own." "Why would you?" I straightened a bit and continued talking:"Well, firstly, I may be in need of a great scientist such as you and the other, probably more important reason is that the Avengers, or what's left of them, need you." "What do you mean what's left of them?" He swiftly turned his head at me. I looked in his eyes: "You don't know anything about what happened in the past 6 and more months in the world, do you?" He shook his head. So I started to tell him everything I knew about what happened since defeating Ultron. I told him about the new compound, Lagos, the Sokovia Accords, the Civil War and its aftermath.

"I'm sure the guys could give you more details about the events. It didn't just leave physical wounds, but also emotional scars. That is why I'm here. I'm begging you, please come back with me. You don't have to fight or be part of any team, but please come with me. They are a mess and they miss you." I made my best pleading puppy impression and waited for a response. It was already dark, really dark. The stars sparkled in the sky, the moon, silver and round, stood guard over them and they all reflected in the water.

After a while Bruce finally spoke up:"I'm a monster, Emily. I don't know how much they told you about me, but they forgot to mention those parts." "Oh no, they didn't. They don't even know I'm here. I didn't want them to have high expectations in case you decided to stay hidden, so no pressure." I took a deep breath and looked up in the sky. Then I continued: "I know about Hulk, don't you worry about misinformation, but I seriously doubt that you'd be sitting here so peacefully if you were to be a monster. Hulk isn't bad, I suppose, he has just too much energy and likes to smash things." "Yes, that makes him dangerous." Looking at him I said:"Aren't we all? How about I show you that you are not the most dangerous thing in the world? That would be either me or a nuke, which I don't have, so look." Then I stood up and added:"Just, don't hulk out." Who knows if he saw Tangled?

I faced the ocean and the moon, let my cover down and felt the power flowing through my veins. An icy blue streak appeared in my dark hair, my eyes started to glow as did the blue ornament on the left side of my face. I usually hide those marks with my powers, but now I don't need to.

Spreading my arms for the effect rocks and seawater started to float around me; the wind blew and I may or may not have caused a small earthquake. Then everything froze midair. I turned to see Bruce standing there staring wide-eyed at me with his mouth hanging open. I gently lowered everything on the ground where it belonged. My eyes closed, I let my 2 companions out. From one hand a white light appeared and transformed into a phoenix; the other was blue and became a wolf. My arms rested on my sides as I spoke to Bruce:"This was just a small part of what I can do. The true nature of my power, the strength and ability to destroy everything, those two are responsible for me having it. I didn't choose it, neither did you. There's beauty in it, grace, but also great danger of destroying the whole world." I sighed and sat down next to Bruce. Still looking at my hands I said:" I spend years trying fight it, them; I locked myself into a cave as far from people as possible, tried to kill myself in every way possible only to fail each time, only to learn… Only to learn I shouldn't have fought it in the first place. I should have just accepted the fact that they are a part of me, no, they are me. It has to be said they weren't very cooperative either. But we eventually made peace and learned how to get along. It was a hard and long journey, but it worked out quite well, even if we bicker all the time." Then Bruce spoke up finally ending my monologue:"If I come with you, will you help me with Hulk?" I smiled:"Of course I will. Don't you worry; I even have a place for him to smash as much as he wants to. Trust me, it hold; even I go there to ventilate my anger. Oh, I forgot to introduce you. The white bird there is Phoenix. She is kind, peaceful, smart etc., kind of an introvert I'd say and her power comes from the sun. She is just like it, spreading feelings all around. The blue wolf over there is Accalia. She is perfect in combat, wild, funny, crazy, the perfect leader that loves to play jokes on people as much as driving them crazy. When angry or just bored with too much energy for her own good, she destroys things like a weapon of mass destruction. Feelings this one doesn't show, but is more compassionate than anyone. I think she and Hulk could be good buddies." We laughed. Then I asked the obvious question:"So what? Will you give us a chance? And I meant what I said; I really could use a scientist like you." "I think I'm crazy. Let me just get some things and we can go. By the way, how did you get here in the first place?" I smirked; I just love the silent approach feature we have installed on Flipper and the mission jets. Accepting the hand he held out to help me stand up I said:"You'll see. But now, lead the way."

After the stop at Bruce's cozy little kind of cottage we made our way to the cleaning. Guided by my nose we reached the empty appearing place. I removed my remote control/keys from around my neck and pressed one of the buttons. My buddy Flipper appeared out of nowhere with lights already turned on. Another button and the door opened with a staircase. "Come on, let's go!" I shouted running towards my jet. Bruce didn't hesitate.

"You can sit in the back or the front, your choice. The things you can put there in the back." I motioned to the part I threw my things. It was some kind of a little closet where my formal outfit from that morning and my uniform were hanging. Bruce put his things down and looked at it. My uniform is designed simple. It is entirely black, involves shoes and gloves and has an emblem on the chest, which consists of a blue circle and a white phoenix. The other teams belonging to the IPA have the same design, but without the emblem. The best thing about them is, they adapt to the color of the surrounding, so hiding in the snow is no problem.

Damn, I thought as I looked at the clock. It was already past 4AM in NY and I had a meeting at 7; so much about sleeping tonight. Bruce chose to sit next to me in the cockpit, the view is better from there. That gave us a chance to talk and get to know each other better. After a few minutes Bruce broke the silence:"You know, I just realized I know almost nothing about you, except the name and that you are quite powerful that is. So, who are you?" I started talking. My name, which caught his attention, but he didn't say anything; what I do for living, GNC, IPA, the Avengers, the UN, my role there and blah, blah, blah… To my surprise, by the time I finished he wasn't bored to death. In return he told me more about himself. We talked the whole way and it is safe to say that by the time we landed, we already considered each other friends.

 _ **To be continued in chapter 8: Here Kitty, Kitty!**_


	8. Here Kitty, Kitty!

Chapter 8- Here Kitty, Kitty!

We took the car from the airport and went straight to my apartment. I shoved Bruce the guest room with an attached bathroom and where to find the kitchen and let him get some sleep while I was in meetings. After a quick shower, a change of clothes and a quick something you could call breakfast I exited the apartment and went downstairs to my office. Arriving just in time I did my best not to look like a zombie. Since none of the other people in the meeting room commented on my looks, I must have succeeded. Or maybe they were just being too polite.

I made sure I had no other meetings today and after a mutual agreement with Katie I decided to take the rest of the day of. All of my subordinates/colleagues consider me a workaholic and are therefore grateful to get rid of me at least for a few hours a day. But I still told them to call if anything. God knows they are jumping up and down of joy if I get out at least for the weekend. I wonder what they'd be doing if I got out for a week?

Bruce came stumbling out of the guest room freshly showered and dressed in clean clothes as I entered the apartment. "Good morning!" "Likewise. Did you sleep well? You ate something I hope." I said smiling and looked at the clock which read 10AM. "Yes, I did sleep well and I also ate already, thank you." "Great, I'll give you a quick tour through the facility and then we go visit the Avengers."

And so we started our tour. By the end of it I couldn't tell if Bruce liked the training facilities or labs more; I'm guessing labs, he's a scientist after all, but the possibility to let Hulk out in the simulation room was also welcome.

We headed to the Avengers HQ right after. As we neared the grounds of the former Stark Industries warehouses, Bruce became so nervous I swear even the car could feel it. When he started to pale I rather rolled the windows down, too. So I tried to comfort him a little:"Hey, Bruce, relax. They aren't going to kill you nor eat you alive; they'll be very happy to have you back, trust me." I think it helped, if only a little.

There was something strange about this place now. What I meant was that 2 days prior it looked different here. The car came to a stop and we got out. I turned to Bruce who was looking the same direction I was:"You see the giant Hello Kitty too or am I hallucinating?" "Not the case, I see it as well." I looked back on the roof. What the hell was a giant Hello Kitty doing there? Last time I checked we had a garden on the roof.

Without thinking any further we ran to the entrance of the living quarters. Stepping inside we noticed the first highly unusual thing; silence. Taking the stairs two steps at a time we came to the living room. Since there are no walls between the staircase and the living room/kitchen/dining room (for further references the main room) we had a clear view on the situation right when we reached the top of the stairs. Any fears of my teammates being kidnapped or worse disappeared, but I wasn't very happy with the view either.

There was Fury lying across the couch snoring; Tony was drooling on the piano and Rhodey was fast asleep on the counter. The floor was covered by empty bottles from various alcoholic drinks and I don't want to know what else and the kitchen looked as if a nuke exploded there. Then I noticed Vision who was quietly picking up bottles from the floor. I turned to Bruce:"This I didn't expect." We entered the room greeting Vision: "Hi, Viz! How are you? And what happened here?" "Hello Emily, Dr. Banner. I'm fine but I'm sure they won't be given how much they drank last night. As to what happened, I'm afraid I can't answer your question. I spent the whole night helping Agent Hill with the new databases in the control room underground." "Then I bet you didn't see the new roof decoration yet, did you?" Viz shook his head no, so I sent him and Bruce to do damage control on the roof.

Once they were gone I turned to my future victims and shouted from the top of my lungs:"Avengers assemble!" Soon they were standing at attention for me with rather startled expressions. I continued:"The painkillers are in the cabinet next to the fridge. And if at least one of you could come up with an explanation of this, the giant Hello Kitty on the roof and how it got there, I'd be grateful. But clean this mess you made first and I also brought you a surprise." A triple "Yes, ma'am!" rang through the room. They started the tidying up and I went to join Viz and Bruce on the roof.

"They are cleaning up. So what did you find out?" Bruce was the one to answer my question. "It's made of plastic, can't tell if they glued it there or not, but we should be able to get it down without causing any more damage to the roof." We then took a few pictures as reminders for the future and got to work. Bruce was navigating as Viz and I removing Kitty from the roof. Not that it was heavy for one, but 2 are better for stability. Once finished I turned to Bruce. "This is not how you imagined the first day back, did you?" He laughed. "No, definitely not." Viz joined us and together we looked at the statue for a few more minutes and then went to check on our troublemakers.

With the job finished we entered the now clean main room to hear the story about how our Kitty got on the roof of a 3 story building. Explanation time was postponed again but at least for a valid reason this time, because once the boys noticed the company I brought a long awaited reunion took place. The guys even exchanged a couple of hugs. I just stood there, leaning on the counter looking at how happy they were and smiling to myself so absorbed in thoughts, that I never noticed Tony sneaking up from behind. He wrapped his arms around me, put his head on my shoulder and whispered "Thank you" into my ear. Then he kissed me on the cheek. I leaned back and put my head on his shoulder. We stayed like this for a few more moments watching Rhodey, Viz and Fury trying to get Bruce to give away his secret hideout. "You know I'm going to get the explanation." I said moving my head so I was looking him in the eyes. He looked down. "Yeah, but give it some time."

I didn't have to wait long for Bruce was also curious about what happened. "Try to start with the part about why the kitchen looked as if a nuke exploded here." I added from the kitchen, still in Tony's arms. He finally let go and we moved to the couch to sit with the others. Then one by one the men began to tell what they remembered. They drank a bit and Tony decided to make pancakes as a midnight snack. That explains the kitchen. He may be a genius, but in the kitchen, even if sober, he's a disaster waiting to happen. So since the outcome of his activity wasn't anything edible, they decided to exchange food for more alcohol. The rest of the story was told us by Friday, since none of the participants seemed to remember more.

Turns out Fury wanted to achieve world domination with something big. So Tony and Rhodey went to get him the something. This being a big Hello Kitty statue they found in the dumpster. Then they flew it as Iron Man and War Machine to the Avengers HQ and topped it on the roof. And they went to celebrate it with Fury of course. Then they fell asleep. We spend the rest of the evening talking and laughing.

I came to my decision about Tony, but let today be about friendship and the team. The best thing about living with the Avengers is that you never know what to expect from them, so you are never bored.


	9. Close and still far away-Tony's POV

**This chapter will be a bit different than the others yet. It is written in Tony's POV since I thought he should also have a say in this. He is such a complex character in the movies (and RDJ is doing an awesome job in portraying Tony), but I can't help but have the feeling not many people notice this. Anyway, let me know what you think and enjoy…**

Chapter 9- Close and still far away- _Tony's POV_

It's been a few weeks since Bruce returned. He and Emi or better Hulk and Wolvie have sparing seasons a couple of times per week in the simulation room and they seemed to get along perfectly. They smash things there probably. Emi says that he's like a kid and only wants someone to like him. I always thought he couldn't be that dangerous, just misunderstood. What I mean is, they see this guy and the first thing they do is try to kill him. Tell me who wouldn't be aggressive then. Hulk adores his new buddy and sometimes they would run around the compound here too. We, as in Rhodey, Vision and I, join them sometimes. Emily calls it teambuilding activities. Oh, I forgot to mention, since Bruce and Hulk get along so well, Bruce agreed to rejoin the Avengers and is currently living here with us. We are also back to being mad scientists who already managed to blow up a few things.

Tonight is team night. Emi and Bruce are still at GNC, I didn't pay attention as to why. Bruce is doing some research there, I think.

Rhodey and Vision are preparing food in the kitchen, where I'm not allowed, so I pick movies for tonight. I wander down the hallway to the room we named Gallery. Since the Hello Kitty incident we started to collect pictures and videos of the team and hang them here. There's one of Emily and Hulk playing Frisbee with Cap's shield. I wonder where he and the rest are. One of the pictures shows the old team, the first Avengers team at a party some time after defeating the Chitauri. It was taken by Fury, for some reason.

Meanwhile Emi and Bruce returned from GNC, so we started our team night. In between movies there was a lot of talking. Bruce wanted to know more about our civil war, so we told him. Then I said: "Sometimes I wonder whether we did the right thing." "It's the United Nations. You can't just ignore them." Rhodey said. "So this whole fight, what tore the team apart was because of some accords?" Bruce asked. We looked at each other. "Cap didn't want to accept them, accept the limits they bring. One part of the team stood behind him, the rest were for the accords. Then Bucky came to the picture and it all came crashing down. "Bucky this, Bucky that. Bucky is my friend." True, it was Zemo's plan to tear us apart. But Cap said I did it when I signed." I said looking around. Then Emily spoke up: "You didn't. None of you in this room is responsible for tearing the Avengers apart. You made the right choice and this is not the ambassador of the UN speaking. You were able to accept boundaries, responsibility for your actions and shown respect to the countries. The most important thing is, that you learned from your mistakes and are trying to do things right and you look after the world we live in. Guys, this is a quality Cap for some reason doesn't have. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's bad or something. He just can't seem to learn from mistakes, he's only trying to do things right no matter the price. That means he won't accept limits. You know as they say that everything is allowed in war. I'm afraid he subconsciously doesn't want the wars to end. He is and always will be a soldier, fighting. This whole thing wasn't your fault boys. You made the right choice trust me. And don't worry, one day you all will be back together. The investigation is running and I don't want to give you false hope, but we may be able to get rid of charges against Natasha soon." We gave Emily a hug for this. All of us needed to hear something like that.

"Maybe we'll be back together someday, hopefully Steve will be over his Buckymania by then." I said. That triggered Bruce's question: "What is so bad about this Bucky? Sure the Winter Soldier, but any other reason you despise him?" "He killed my parents. I saw the footage, they still lived after the accident and he returned to the car and killed them. Steve knew, but he never told me and even defended him, saying he was his friend. But so was I." "I'm sorry about that, Tony."

We decided it was time for another movie. The rest of the night went by fast. We also talked about redecorating the living quarters. Everyone had their own room here, so we only needed to agree on the main room.

We eventually did. Soon after, Emily went to bed, we-the guys watched some more TV.  
"Are you two like a couple?" Bruce pointed out.  
"No we're not." I replied disappointed. Bruce picked it up.  
"But you're acting like one."  
I looked him in the eyes. "We were once, but that was long ago. It didn't end well." Rhodey joined the conversation.  
"Didn't end well? You cheated on her, how did you think it would have worked out?"  
"I was drunk, I had no idea what I was doing. It took me six months to apologize."  
"At least you did. Dude, don't tell me you're in love with her. Wait, are you?"  
Vision also added his thoughts: "From their interaction it is very hard not to see the emotional bond they share."  
"Vision's right, Tony. Besides, Pepper has moved on, you should too." said Bruce putting his drink down.  
"I know. This time I lost her for good."  
"You still haven't answered my question. Are you in love with Emily?"  
I looked at Rhodey knowing he wouldn't shut up if he didn't get the answer, so I simply answered: "Always."  
Silence filled the room, so I decided to change the topic to Bruce's hideout. Another hour of talking followed.

None of us lasted much longer, so everyone moved to their own room. But I just couldn't sleep. I got out of bed and made my way down the hall. Stopping in front of Emi's room, I don't even know why, I opened the door. She looked so fragile, so small, okay she is smaller than me, but in this big bed she looked even tinier, sleeping on her side like she always did on the edge of the bed. I leaned against the doorframe and a smile formed on my face. My mother loved this girl. After their first meeting she told me: "You better not lose this one, dear, she's a keeper, good for you, nice and smart. Don't mess this up."  
But guess what, I did. I rubbed the back of my head, god was I an idiot. She was always my friend, my partner in crime. I laugh as I think back to all those stupid things we did together with Rhodey. My other "friends" disliked her, as did Rhodey and I in the beginning, but there was something fascinating about her, too. We thought she was a boring nerd, we never saw her anywhere else but the school and well the truth is, we never even tried to get to know her. I remember the first time I went to her place for the project we were working on. She gave me her address and to be honest I expected to go to a dorm or tiny flat or something like that. Let's say I was shocked to arrive and see a black wrought iron fence with a hedgerow preventing any view on the grounds behind it. I double checked the address before I decided to ring the bell. Honestly back then I wasn't looking forward to spend my Friday evening with a boring nerd but I was to go on a party that night, so I thought I'll just endure the few hours. She led me into the basement where we set up the lab and spent a couple of hours there. We talked a bit about what to do and started to work on the plans, but that was all we talked about. I'm sure she could tell I didn't want to be there at all. When I decided it was time for partying so she just led me to the door without saying more than that we'll set up a meeting to finish it later. Let's just say as soon as we opened the door we had to close them. Because of a heavy snowstorm the few hours I was supposed to spend here turned into the whole night and part of the morning. So she led me to the living room I didn't see before as the stairs to the basement were in the hallway. She offered a drink, I accepted and after approximately 30 minutes of awkward silence I started asking stupid questions. To my surprise she actually answered them and after an hour or so she disappeared to the bathroom which gave me time to explore the living room. I sat down and started playing on the black grand piano. When I finished I heard I turned around to see not the nerd but probably the most beautiful girl in the world. No glasses, no pined up hair; just a brown-haired girl smiling at me. We eventually finished our robot and talked a lot. I found out who she was and why she was like that. I told her some of my secrets; so much about our first real encounter. Through the years, I gained her trust only to lose it all. I even managed to talk her into a relationship and break her heart afterwards. This is starting to remind me of a confession. Why not?  
It happened at the end of the school year. I still see the look in her eyes when she came and saw what I did. I wish she'd at least slapped me on my face, but she just stood there, tears, hurt and disappointment in her eyes. The worst thing thought was, that I didn't even try to apologize. I just looked at her like what I did was the most natural thing in the world. "What? Why are you looking at me like this? What are you doing here anyway; I thought you were in NY?" "I was, but as you surely forgot we were supposed to meet 2 hours ago so I came looking for you. I see I shouldn't have come." "No, you probably shouldn't have." There was no screaming, shouting, no hysterical cry, but it still was a fight. We stood there for a moment and then she said: "So I guess this is goodbye then. If you ever need me, just call and remember I'll always have your back no matter what. Goodbye Tony." With that she turned and walked out of the room as well as my life. It took me a while to realize what happened, what I did and it took me even more time to get together enough courage to apologize. The plan was to call and invite her over for Christmas like every year; instead I called her the night I lost my parents. She never even hesitated to come; she forgave me after my apology saying that I hurt her but she didn't want to lose a friend. We just sat there the whole night crying. The truth is I don't know what I'd do without her. She was always there for me, no matter what. I knew that we would do anything for each other.

One day I asked her for a big favor. I was a playboy, getting drunk at parties and the last thing I wanted was to wake up married to one of those girls I met there. Emily was my best friend, so I asked her to become my wife, only on paper. "You know, like signing a contract, nothing more if you don't want it, please. I promise it will be kept secret." I remember it perfectly. It took me 2 months to convince her. She had her lawyers draw up a contract saying that in case of divorce the properties remain in hands of their rightful owners, that means just like it was before we got married. There was also a paragraph saying that there would be no problem with annulment of the marriage in case one of us was in a serious relationship and wanted to get married; just a signature. April 3rd, that was the day we got married. In a cathedral, that was where civil weddings were being held at the time, because of a reconstruction of the town hall.

Watching her sleep, it's hard to believe that this petite girl is probably the most powerful creature on this planet. Why was I so stupid? Why did we say goodbye? Right, I was an idiot, that's why. Leaning against the doorframe the only thing I want to do is touch her soft skin, hold her in my arms. She's my best friend. We're so close and yet so far away. I just love this girl and that is something I have no problem to admit, now. But, will she give me a second chance? After what I did to her I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't. My trance was interrupted by Emily's voice. "Are you going to stand there for long? It's getting a bit windy here and you're creepy." She looked up, hair sticking up in all directions, her beautiful eyes sleepy. That's my girl. "Sorry, I just…" "Couldn't sleep so you decided to creepily watch me sleep?" "Yes, that is basically it." She laughed. "Ok, so you can go back to your own bed or stay here, but please, close the door." I stepped into the room and closed the door. "Can I?" I pointed to the bed. "Ah, come here. But I'll use you as a pillow and personal heater since you managed to make the room cold." I jumped on the bed and got under covers. "I thought the cold never bothered you?" And I got hit in my face with a pillow. "You are still like a kid sometimes, do you know that?" She said as she rested her head on my chest. "But isn't that why you like me so much?" "Sure" was her answer.

A few minutes later I decided to try my luck. "Elianne, are you still awake?" "Hmm, yeah, why?" came a sleepy reply. "I was wondering if maybe… if maybe I could ask you to give me one more chance." Please say yes, please say yes, please! "Is that why you were in my room? You know what; I must be crazy, but yes. Everyone deserves a second chance." I kissed her hair, muttered a "Thank you" and pulled her close. "I promise I won't hurt you ever again." We drifted off to sleep in each others arms.


	10. Our first mission and girls night

**Sorry, would have updated sooner, but my part-time job kind of takes most of my time, as in 10 hours a day this week. Well, enjoy this chapter.**

Chapter 10 – Our first mission and a girl night

Back to Emily's POV

When I woke up the next morning my Tiger was still sleeping peacefully. Really, he purrs like a cat while asleep. It's cute, but can be quite annoying after some time. I snuck out of bed, careful not to wake him and made my way to the main room.

Looking around I decided to clean the mess we left here yesterday. Normally I hate cleaning up and tend to use my powers to do so, but right now I needed to do think and cleaning up is the best activity to do so. Maybe I was too hard on Tony all those years ago, but walking into the room with Rhodey in tow scared something happened to him and then finding him like that. It was just too much; it hurt like hell. I looked at the TV and a strange thought crossed my mind. Why did we watch movies here when there's a small cinema in the basement? Might as well save that idea for later.

The living room area was all clean, so I decided to make breakfast. Checking the fridge, I decided to make the best out of its content. Note to self: Send boys shopping. Even though my last name is Stark, I can cook and pretty well if I may add. I learned it when I was still a kid; I used to sneak into the castle's kitchen. The cooks there taught me and later I perfected my hobby. Let's be honest, I had more than enough time for it.

Soon I was joined by Vision, who was sitting by the counter closely watching my activity. He was curious, I could tell. The smell of food seemed to lure the rest of the Avengers to the table. After breakfast we cleaned up and I made the guys a shopping list. Then my phone rang. The UN had a mission for the IPA.

"Looks like shopping will have to wait. We have a mission. Go and gear up, we'll meet in front of the hangar." I took my key out and called for a jet. My uniform was in the car, since I always carry that thing around. You never know when they call or when you need it. Our flight arrived just as the boys came to the meeting place.

"Welcome aboard our flight to Egypt. We should be landing within the next 2 hours, the bathroom is on the left, feel free to walk around if you'd like, mission briefing will follow in a few minutes. Thank you for flying with us." I announced after boarding and take off. The mission was so to say, simple. Free hostages held by terrorists. Yeah, just nobody bothered to tell us it was the whole town held hostage. The downside of working like this is that sometimes people forget to mention things. But we managed anyway. When we arrived the armed forces were already waiting for us. Splitting up in two parts- Iron Man, War Machine and Vision flew up and Bruce and I sneaking in on the ground. Did I mention he looks incredibly sexy in the new uniform? Even so if he takes the shirt down to transform into Hulk. But he would be too obvious for sneaking around, so I stuck to Bruce. I wonder if he ever did something like that before, except the training. We did our job. A perfectly aimed attack from above and ground in its finest harmony, the on-command break in of the armed forces mixed together resulted in saving and freeing all of the hostages.

I have to say I'm proud of my new team. They did a great job and didn't cause any unnecessary damage. Everyone followed orders; terrorists were either arrested or taken down, depended on how much they were willing to cooperate. But the highlight of the day was seeing the priceless expressions on their faces when they saw Hulk. Most of them rather gave up. Good thing cameras are mandatory in the IPA. Not only do they save time with mission reports but some moments better be on tape, just like this one. The flight back was, well, everyone was asleep. At least they'll have more energy for tomorrow.

My next day was full of meetings and sitting in the office. In the history of boredom there was probably no person bored more than I that day. I wonder what the boys are doing. They are probably already home from the shopping trip and are watching TV or something. I listen to the radio; the lyrics of Taylor Swifts Crazier fill the room. My sight falls on a framed picture sitting on the shelf. I walk up to it and take it so I can get a closer look. It's a black and white picture of Tony and I having a snowball fight. Rhodey took it before Christmas that year. Memories start to float in my head. Tony chasing me around the house, I hid behind a tree, and shook the branches as soon as he was close enough; him catching me, spinning me around and throwing me into the snow. The next picture is from summer; a sandy Tony giving me a hug while I squeak from distress. Maybe I shouldn't have buried in the sand and form it as a mermaid. Rhodey didn't get any less. He really makes me crazier than I was before we met. Too bad it ended like it did. Yeah, sure we are still married on paper, but nobody knows. It was for a good purpose, since it ended up saving his ass a couple of times. If you are married once, you can't marry again unless you get divorced, that is well known and the pesky paparazzi still didn't find out about it. But I still wonder why the good times had to end. The next song on was Why we said goodbye by Tim McGraw. Who made that playlist? Ok, so let's just enjoy this nostalgic moment for a while.

Once office hours were over, I literally run out of the office. Tonight is girls' night. The members are Katie, my BF Emma, Laura and I. Laura works from home since she has 3 kids to take care of. The youngest one, Nathaniel, just turned 1 last week, so he's coming with us so we can spoil him rotten. The older ones are staying at friends, since daddy's gone till god-knows when. A visit of the mall, cinema and café later we were sitting in the living room of my house talking about life and most importantly men. Emma was very excited about going on vacation with her boyfriend to Paris next month. Katie talked about her partner and the in-laws. I asked Laura about the kids. Even though she was doing her best to hide it, she was exhausted. We continued talking till morning came. Emma and Katie than left for home and Laura stayed a bit more since baby Nate was still asleep. I got a great idea. "You look like you could use at least a day or weekend all for yourself, Laura." "I wish, but with three kids it is impossible." "I could take them for the weekend if you'd like." "You'd do that? Thanks, but not that I don't trust you but you'd be very outnumbered, girl." "Nah, I have the Avengers, don't worry, we'll manage somehow." "But then you'll still have 5 kids, an android and only Bruce there to help out." We laughed; Laura totally hit the nail on the head. "I didn't think about that, but don't worry, we'll manage. You deserve it." "Okay, then. But be warned they are a handful." "No worries, so are mine. Next weekend is all yours and we'll take the kids. Just have them ready on Friday and we'll pick them up." Now, looks like we are in for another mission…


	11. Road Trip

**Sorry, I kept you waiting for so long, but I didn't have time, I'll update the next chapter quicker, I promise. Also, Thank you for the reviews, I promise to keep writing and complete the story.**

Chapter 11 – The guide to babysitting (with) the Avengers part 1:

 _ **ROAD TRIP**_

I did tell the guys not to have plans for the weekend. They know I have a special mission for our team, they just don't know what it is. It's finally Friday and somehow I managed to get them in the plane without complaining. We take off and the "mission briefing" is on. To my surprise, no negative reaction follows my announcement. They even think it is a good idea, even Tony agrees, just the mischievous smile on his face scares me a little. What idea did his genius brain come up with? Well anyway, I expected anything but not this. But I'm not saying I'm not glad they see it that way. With a smile I return to the cockpit.

As promised we landed in front of Laura's house in the afternoon. Kids were already waiting and Laura was finishing dressing up Nate. "Hi, everyone ready to go?" "Auntie Em, auntie Em!" came a double voice running down the stairs and I got run over by the older kids. Laura came out of the kitchen holding Nate: "Here you are! I was afraid you got scared." Meanwhile I got the guys load all things including the stroller and car seats in the plane. Once Cooper and Lila said their goodbye, I took the sleeping Nate from Laura who kissed his head one last time before letting him go. I placed the baby in the carrier and we took off to the Avengers base.

The landing at the HQ woke up Nate. The kid has lungs. At least we were already on the ground. While I was trying to calm the baby, the rest of my team took the kids and things in the living quarters. Walking up and down cradling the crying one-year old, I came to the Avengers HQ. As I turned and looked at the new living area, it was hard to imagine those old unused warehouses from a few years back were now home to the new SHIELD and the Avengers. I returned to the quarters with Nathan still crying and Bruce was already waiting with a ready bottle. This calmed Nate down at least for a while. Tony, Viz and Rhodey were at the pool with Lila and Cooper, Bruce joined them soon after. They stayed there till dark while I made dinner and Nate played in the playpen. Seeing the guys with the kids I'm starting to think maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all. I wonder if Tony wants kids someday. I'm sure he'd make a great dad, even if he says otherwise.

After dinner we watched a little TV and then shooed the tomboys to bed. With only the adults in the room, we could go over the plans for tomorrow as they were supposed to be a surprise for the kids. After a few minutes of talking, Tony came up with a good idea:"They are kids, let's take them to an amusement park."  
"I thought of that before, but which one? They are many of them around here." I did look it up on the internet, there are quite many around New York.  
"I was thinking something further away, where they don't go often."  
"Which is?" Bruce and Rhodey also wanted to know. The mischievous smile from before appeared again.  
"Disney World Orlando." Oh god, roller coasters.  
"Why this one, Tony?"  
"Come on, Emi, we've never been there. We only went to California like 3 times or so. Plus, you know you want it too, you love Disney and I love something else."  
"Yes, teasing." The rest of the gang grew curious.  
"You've been to Disneyland, Tony?" asked Rhodey, laughing.  
"I don't see a problem there. I mean I'm sure everyone's been there at least once."  
"Sure, as a kid."  
Meanwhile Viz, Bruce and I had our own little discussion. "So you and Tony went to Disneyland?"  
"Sure, I'd say it's some kind of a tradition you know, when things go wrong and we just need to get away. It's as if you return to the time you were a kid. Plus, I despise roller coasters and he loves to drag me on them just so he can be the hero."  
"Just asking but did you also put on costumes and so?" "No, we did not." Vision, who was listening patiently, then pointed out an important detail. "How do we plan to get there? Orlando is a far for a one day trip." He had a point. "I have a jet, we'll take that one to the airport in Florida, then take the van to the park and we should book some hotel or so and we can stay till the end of the weekend." While Tony and Rhodey were still teasing each other about Disney being only for kids or not, we looked up hotels in the resort. We reserved the biggest Boardwalk villa they had (for 9 people), ended the pissing contest, packed some things for us and the kids and went to sleep. We had a long drive ahead of us the next day.

Waking up early in the morning, I fed Nathan and took him for a ride with me to GNC. There I went to my garage and took the big black Mercedes van, which, having place for 12 passengers, was ideal for our trip. I store several cars in my garage; I really should call it a parking lot, including this big one, some sport cars and my favorite French ones. The cars and limousines belonging directly to the company are parked in another building. I put the car seat with Nate in this van and we went to pick up the rest.

When we returned, everyone was still sleeping peacefully. Well, at least so I thought. Tony was in the kitchen making coffee when I entered with a sleeping Nathan in arms. "Hey, were have you been?" he asked quietly noticing the sleepy head. "He woke up around an hour ago, so I fed him and went to pick up the van." I said putting Nate in the crib/playpen. "Cool, what did you bring, didn't know you had a van in your car collection." "Then come and take a look Mr. Stark. Of course I have a van, sometimes we go on group or teambuilding trips and there's not always enough space to land a plane, you know. I have this one for also private use, 2 are for teams and there are 2 more for business purposes." That is one of the things Tony and I have in common. We both love cars and can't get enough of them. Checking on Nate one more time assured he was asleep we went after our passion standing in front of the entrance. "Hmm, not bad."  
"We are like 8 people, so I thought we could use a big vehicle and this one has place for 12. Want to help me take out the last row of seats to get a bigger boot? We're gonna need it."  
"Sure, let's do it."

Once finished and seats stocked away in the garage, we returned to the main room where everyone was already assembled. After breakfast we told the kids why they were woken up at this unethical hour in the morning. The grumpy look disappeared as quickly as the kids did to get ready to leave. Meanwhile I send a message to Laura, because no one wants to be woken up by a call at 4AM, informing her about our plans for the rest of the weekend. Then I remembered I also had to put the 2 booster seats in the van.

We started our road trip shortly after. All 3 kids were asleep in the back with Bruce, Viz and Rhodey who were chatting. I was flying and Tony was keeping me company in the front: "So, do you have any new additions to your car park?" "No, but they are on their way from Europe, one for me and one for GNC." "Your favorite mark?" "Yep, the newest C5s. Both black with diplomatic license plates, a gift from the UN so I can drive around for summits all around the world freely."  
"They really like you, but why wouldn't they? Do you know something new about the investigation?"  
"Not much, it is going slow, they're going through every detail, and every piece of information they have. They may want to interrogate you, but I'm not sure about it."  
"So it's going to be a long time till we can even try and locate them."  
"Yeah, but we could try to contact Black Widow by the end of this year hopefully. I just hope that by the time the UN makes a decision, it won't be too late."  
"You're having nightmares again, aren't you? What do you see?"  
"I had always have them, Tony."  
"You know I meant those see a scary future kind of." Sure, I know. I haven't had them for some time and now they returned. The last time I had them was around the time Vision was created.  
"What are they about?"  
"There is always this big ugly purple smurf and he wants the Infinity Stones or something like that. Oh, and take over the universe and 9 realms."  
"Scary, wait, how do you know about the Infinity stones and 9 realms, I don't remember mentioning it to you. Or did I?" "Not that I knew of. You know the cave behind my house, the one I go to when I need to find answers to dreams like this or so. It is the only place I can talk to Accalia and Phoenix. They are eternal spirits, entities if you want to and the cave is a special place, actually it is the reason my house and GNC stand where they do. They can access different places from there, like not only on Earth in our realm, so they gave me the answers I needed, said they got it from some guy in Asgard." "Ok, so any idea what now?" "Nope, I don't have much, but I know it has something to do with my old diadem or the stones in it. I mean I knew it was special from the beginning, it boosts my powers, you know. I always felt the need to protect it, keep it save so it doesn't get in wrong hands. It was like someone was telling me I had to. The stones aren't from earth Tony. They aren't from our realm either. But how about we change the course of this conversation to something more optimistic?" Tony smirked: "I bet I'd win a race between the two of us." "Oh, forget it. I'm a better driver on the track than you." "What, no way!" "We could always test it once we get back." "Deal. But I'll win anyway." You wish, Tony, you wish; I thought to myself. We landed in Florida.  
The passengers were currently watching The Lion King on TV. The drive was silent in the front for a while until Tony asked out of the blue: "Are you nervous about the Expo?"  
"No, not the Expo. But…" "Being in public?" he looked at me. I have to admit he knows me too well.  
"Yeah, public appearances. I haven't even been to a press conference since the day I took over the company, sure I meet people on daily basis on business meetings or senates or UN meetings, but I never go to those big galas and balls. To my excuse I'm usually busy, but still, it is going to be my first public appearance since, well, 30 years ago. And it will also be on TV…" "Hey, hey, calm down. Don't worry, I'll be there. Oh, look, we're here." I looked out of the window. Walt Disney World, here we come…

 **This was part one of the three-parter "** _ **The Guide to babysitting (with) the Avengers"**_ **called "** _ **Road Trip".**_ **Following are part 2 "** _ **Can you feel the love tonight?" a**_ **nd part 3 "** _ **Homecoming".**_


	12. Can you feel the love tonight?

Chapter 12 The guide to babysitting (with) the Avengers part 2

 _Can you feel the love tonight?_

We checked in and, after unloading and lunch, we began our two day stay at the park. Lila and Cooper were excited to be here. Maybe we can get them to forget for a moment that their dad isn't home, or here with them for that matter. If you wonder how we possibly could have gotten around in the park relatively unnoticed with an android and a well known billionaire, I'll explain. Tony was quite easy, shave his face. Vision was a harder nut to crack. In the end, after considering about 20 different options, we agreed on using a photostatic veil **(AN: if you don't know what it is, it was used in the Winter Soldier by Black Widow)** to change the look of his face. While driving here, we had a conversation about names. _"So, we can't really go around calling you Vision and Tony isn't going to be a good idea either." said Bruce. The kids were still asleep back then.  
"Then how should we call them? We have to name them different, you are right. You got any ideas Bruce?" "Hey, "They" are right here, they can hear you perfectly." "Yeah, we know, Tony. What is your second name again?" Bruce asked. "It's Edward and no way will I be using it." "Why not?" asked Rhodey. "Because I won't, that's why." Tony was being childish. This kind of bickering went on for the next 10 minutes or so, till I ran out of patience: "Ok, so we could call Viz Eddie and Tony can be Larry." I don't have time for playing babysitter while driving._

One of the rules of babysitting (with) the Avengers: They behave like kids, you better get used to play parent. Thankfully you have Bruce acting as an adult too to have your back.

The next one is keep them entertained, because they'll do stupid things or have pissing contests if bored. TV, a fake/real mission objective or competition are the best means to. For a drive or long flight, TV on board is the best option.

Here we are walking through the park, Bruce pushing the empty stroller, Tony/Larry, Rhodey and the blond haired blue eyed Vision/ Eddie were standing line for one of the attractions and I was holding Nate's hand walking around on his shaky feet. Somehow I could sum a whole day up in this. Well, give or take. A few hours later, I was sitting on a bench near the roller coaster the rest of my crew went to. I was looking at Nathaniel who was so tired out from the whole day he fell asleep as soon as I placed him in his stroller. He's really adorable sleeping with his head tilted to side, drooling. This is the part I envy Laura and wonder if I ever get lucky enough to have at least one of those as my own. I got so caught up in staring that I didn't notice the elderly lady who sat down next to me. "You have a very cute son, but aren't you too young to have a child on your own?" We live in the 21st century and in your times it wouldn't be any weirder than now. I should know, I lived at the time. But instead I smiled politely: "Thank you, but he's not my son. I'm just his aunt." It wasn't a lie. For the older kiddos I was an aunt, so why not this one. "Oh, I see. His parents are here somewhere too I suppose. Or did they just leave him to your care?" "Yes they did, they're not here. His father is a soldier who went MIA a few months ago, he has two older siblings and so a couple of my friends and I decided to give their mother a well deserved weekend off." "So she just let her kids in the care of a teenager?" The conversation took a course I didn't like at all. The rest of my gang with Tony in the lead decided to show up. Sensing my growing discomfort with my conversation partner he spoke up. "Here's my lovely wife! How is Nate doing?"  
"Our little nephew is asleep, we exhausted him today."  
"That's good. At least he'll hopefully sleep through the night. Oh, how rude from me. Hello, I'm Larry, nice to meet you." He said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice to the old lady who was finally speechless. Too bad it didn't last long.  
"Nice to meet you, too. But aren't you a bit old for her?" Tony blinked and grew serious: "No, I'm not, we went to the UNI together, and even if, dear lady, love knows no age. The only thing that matters is that we love each other without having a reason to." With that he took my hand and added: "Ready to go?" "Sure. It was nice talking to you." I waved the speechless old lady whose mouth was hanging open goodbye. We turned and walked to our group and off we went to dinner together. They, as in Bruce and Rhodey, were grinning the whole way to the restaurant. No doubt they heard the conversation. "What?" I asked after a few minutes.  
"Nothing, just Tony calls you his wife and you act like it's normal."  
"Well, it certainly did save me from the person who stuck her nose into things it didn't belong." Then I looked at Tony and without the need to speak up he knew what I was going to ask. Should we tell them? Tony looked at the kids and mouthed: Later. We had a nice dinner, kids happily chatting about the day and Rhodey and Bruce still grinning from ear to ear. What are those two up to?

Once the kids settled in the king sized double bed and Nate continued his sleep after being woken up for dinner in the crib, we had finally time for us, the adults. Summing up our entire day as exhausting, Bruce and Rhodey went to bed, taking the baby monitor with them. Vision, glad to be finally able to take the face cover off, stayed watching TV. I decided to take a walk to clear my head and Tony decided to tag along. Or, to be precise, I walked out of the villa and he ran after me. "You're alright?" he asked.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"Well, you seem a bit off since the conversation with the woman, that's all."  
"I was hoping I hid it well." He took my hand to stop me, then stood right in front me and held my hands. "You sure did, but knowing you for so many years, I can read you like a book even if no one else can." I looked up to see his face.  
"Come here." He pulled me into a hug. For a moment we just stood there at the board walk, then Tony spoke up: "You are scared the public will judge you wrong, because of who you are, but they don't see the truth, the truth hidden behind the mask you put up every day."  
"Sound like you speak from experience." "I do. In the old Avengers team, they thought I was weak, useless without my armor. I mean they were a god, super soldier, master assassins and then there was I, just a human. But there was Bruce, he was normal, well more or less, we became buddies and you know the rest. Maybe I should have joined your super secret boy band instead. So, how about this time I teach you something other than hacking government files. Don't care what the public thinks, look at people who know you, GNC, us, we know you and you are awesome; a bit crazy but still a genius. And when I admit it then it better be true. Now come on, I have an idea on how to spend the rest of the evening or night."  
With that he pulled me behind him till we came to the Dance hall at the end of the boardwalk. "You had this planned, didn't you?" He smirked and dragged me inside. "Yeah, I made a reservation for us when we arrived at Orlando while you were sorting out accommodation."  
"How were you planning on getting me out of the house, away from the kids?"  
"Easy, the guys were part of the plan. They would be babysitting while I'd take you out on a date. Actually they'd been bothering me to do that since the first team night we had. And since you gave me another chance I better not waste it." We sat down at the table, ordered some drinks and talked. Around midnight Tony stood up and extended his hand. "Shall we dance my lady?" he said with a British accent. Of course I accepted, who wouldn't. _So close_ from Enchanted came up, we're in Disney World after all. It was like the scene in the movie, which I never saw whole by the way, only there was no one to interrupt our dance. For the moment, the world around ceased to exist and the dance floor was ours. I didn't even know Tony still remembered how to dance waltz. The song came to an end as he leaned in and kissed me softly on my forehead. After we broke apart, the crowd around us was cheering and clapping. I wanted to disappear but Tony held me close, which was somehow comforting; I really hate being the center of attention. The first tunes of the next song made me stay, Tangled's _I see the light_ made us sway once again, from side to side, in each other's arms, closer than ever before. My head on Tony's chest, his chin on my head. He is taller than I am, even if I had heels on, which I didn't; just a summer dress and flats. We stayed for another hour or so, dancing to more romantic Disney songs and then we made our way back down the boardwalk to our villa.

The lights of the boardwalk were reflecting in the water, the sound of small waves and the stars above created the perfect romantic ending of our date night. Before we separated in the hallway to go to our rooms, me with the kids, Tony with the guys, he came up to me and planted a soft kiss on my cheek: "Good night. Sleep well, princess." "You too. Good night." He turned once again and smiled before closing the door behind him. I entered my own room, closed the door, leaned on them and smiled. Best date ever. With that thought and the smile I finally closed my eyes and for once dreamed a sweet dream…


	13. Homecoming

Chapter 13 The Ultimate guide to babysitting (with) the Avengers part 3

 _ **Homecoming**_

Early the next morning I found myself in our little dining room talking to Vision about today's plans. I have to admit I haven't had such good sleep like last night for a very long time. While Vision went on and on about some equations and information about the history of amusement parks or something like that, my mind got lost daydreaming about last night. Am I really that blind, not seeing I had everything I ever wanted right in front of me? I remember Jack; one of my oldest friends who was a father figure for me being Lizzie's husband and all, telling me the day GNC became officially mine: "I know you are scared, kid, but let me tell you that you're no monster. You still love James, but he's not coming back, let the past go and allow yourself to love and to be loved again. It will be worth it, this I promise you. Look at me and Lizzie, there will be ups and downs, but if it is love, you'll eventually work it out, even if it took years and when it happens, you know you found the right person." He was right in everything he said, unfortunately he passed away two years ago. I am scared, scared nobody would ever love someone like me. But it looks like I was wrong. It is time to let James go, let the past in the past and allow myself to feel loved again. I looked up; Vision was still caught up in talking.

"Morning!" said Bruce entering the room.  
"Likewise, did you sleep well?" I said interrupting Vision's monologue that already lasted way too long.  
"I did and what about you? How was the walk last night?"  
"Don't act so innocent, I already know you were part of this conspiracy." "Ok, so how was it?" "Incredible. I'd say it was by far the best date I've ever been on."  
"Good to hear, what did you do?" he asked while making coffee. I joined him at a counter. Rhodey came out of their bedroom with a sleepy look and a smiling Tony in tow. Saved by the bell, I looked at back at Bruce, who just sipped his coffee, waiting to be given details. Vision was curiously listening, or I should say studying human behavior. Rhodes's nose picked up the smell of coffee: "Hey, Tony, you should hurry or you'll get none of it." "Nah, enjoy it, I'll pass." Four pairs of eyes turned to him in shock. "What? I'm awake; I haven't slept better in like a year that means I can pretty much do without coffee."  
Rhodey turned at me: "What did you do to him, woman?"  
I just shrugged and put my hands up in the "I have no idea what you're talking about" position.

"Both of you in good mood, smiling, Tony refusing his fuel; you better start talking guys." said Bruce. We were saved from it by the kids waking up. Together we enjoyed a nice family breakfast.

"Ok, so when do we plan to leave here, they have school tomorrow, but there are still places they want to go here." I asked as the kids went to get dressed. "It's a 2 hour drive and a 2 hour flight afterwards." Bruce filled in.  
"Hey, we made it here in 1 hours."  
"But only because you broke several speed limits, Tony." Tony glared at me for the comment, but it was true, we were only lucky there weren't any cops there at the time.  
"Ok, so let's enjoy the next 5 hours in the park and then we'll pack up and go home." I said. "Or, I have an even better idea!" God help us all! Tony is being unusually creative in the morning with no caffeine in the system: "We will stay in the park for another 8 hours, pack and load everything into the car now. You can do the check out while we get to the fun stuff and you'll join us." Everyone agreed.

Once we finished our task, made sure we didn't forget anything and checked out and went to the park. The weather was wonderful today and Tony made sure to every so often "accidentally" brush his hand against mine or something like that. You know, those simple touches that look like nothing but mean a lot. Bruce and Rhodey were still waiting for any details about last night and Vision was, well being Vision. Lila and Cooper were running from one attraction to another and we even found something amusing for Nathaniel. We visited what the kids wanted, had lunch at one of the restaurants, Tony got new victims for rollercoaster rides and everyone seemed happy and totally exhausted at the end of the day. After visiting a few stores we finally made our way to the airport where we arrived about 2 hours later. Landing in NY two hours later, Laura was waiting for us to arrive and take the kids home. We drove back to the Avengers HQ and, not bothering to unload the car, we collapsed on the couch.

"We're still waiting for details, guys." Rhodey muttered.  
"Then enjoy waiting till tomorrow." I said with my eyes closed.  
"By the way, Peter is coming tomorrow after school." Tony added.  
"And we'll look like zombies…" and Bruce ended this conversation for the day.

 **Next on** _ **Through the wolfs eyes**_ **: Spiderman at the HQ and visiting an old friend.**


	14. In a spider's web

Chapter 14- _**In a spider's web**_

Tony's POV

We woke up very early the next day, sometime around noon to be precise. Emily, our little workaholic, left with the car to her office back at GNC. Why can't she just take a day or two off, I don't get. Or a week for that matter. I get why they are happy to get rid of her at least for a day. Not that she's a bad boss, but they are concerned.

Over lunch, which consisted of pizza, I told the guys about the date so they stop bothering me at last. Spidey is to come by in the evening. If anyone _('cough' his unbelievably attractive aunt May 'cough')_ asks, we are working on his project. Thanks to me, his suit doesn't look like an onesie anymore, but we still have a lot to work on with making this one even cooler. Now that I think about it, he hasn't met Banner yet. Hopefully, he won't get that biggest fan attitude again like back then in Germany.

I wonder what Rogers and the rest of the gang are doing or where they are. Ross was pretty pissed I put him on hold back then, but I told him I would.

"Friday, let's tune it up!" ACDC started blasting through the speakers. "Tony, turn the volume down!" shouted Bruce. "No, I won't! Make me." Bruce rolled his eyes.

I spent the next few minutes in my workshop, tinkering on my suit. I had to make a new one after Cap rammed his shield into my chest defending his little killer buddy. They were still alive after the accident, still breathing and conscious. No, it was no accident, it was an assassination. Our world's most perfect human knew and protected the killer. Mom could still be alive now. Why did she have to die? I remember her teaching me to play the piano or sitting in the living room with Aunt Peggy, drinking tea. She was an incredible person, what would she think of what I've become? There are too many questions and no here one to answer them. She's gone forever; died in the car on an empty road in the cold December night in 1991. At the funeral, there were over a hundred people; it was raining instead of snowing. We just stood there, Emily, Rhodey and I in the back, watching the two coffins. One of them was white, the other dark brown, covered with the American flag. Obadiah was in the front giving a speech about the greatness of my father and how much he'll be missed by the world. Aunt Peggy was standing next to us, her eyes filled with real tears, unlike most of the persons present. It was just a few days before Christmas; we didn't celebrate it that year. Aunt Peggy and Rhodey had to get back home and so it was just me and Emi, sitting on the ground in front of the fireplace, hoping to wake up from a nightmare. I didn't. A single tear escaped my eye. I shook it off.

"Tony, you've been here for hours, get out, Peter's coming!" I turned to see Rhodey in the doorway. It was getting dark outside already; seems like the minutes were in reality hours. Hmm, life happens. Peter comes to hang out every once in a while. He's pretty good as it is, doesn't need much training so we share experience. Let's face it, none of us have kids and young Spidey is someone we can teach all we know. He is a fast learner.

"Hey Spider, what's up?" I asked entering the living area. "Hello, Mr. Stark! School started again so I'm busy. Then I try to keep NY safe. Aunt May is at work during the day, got a promotion. She's an economist or something like that." "Please, how many times did I tell you to call me Tony? She suspects anything?" "Sorry, Tony. No, I don't think so." "Good. Now come meet my science bro." On the way we met Rhodey and Vision. Rhodes was trying to explain Vision the magic of videogames. I led Peter to the lab where Bruce was studying something. "Bruce, we have company. Peter this is Bruce Banner." "Peter Parker. It's nice to meet you in person. I read your research in biochemistry is awesome…" Of course the big fan attitude returned. Once it was finally over, Peter shoved Bruce his Spider web, which fascinated Bruce. We spent the next few hours in the lab until we were interrupted by Peter's phone ringing. Aunt May was scolding him for not yet being home. I took the phone from him: "Hello! Tony Stark here, we got a bit caught up. No, don't worry; I'll personally drive him back home. I think he did his homework already, yes. Sure we'll be there within an hour. Bye." Giving Peter his phone back I said:"Now, come on I'll show you some new toys I made for you. With this thing you can disguise yourself, you know change your entire face if needed…" The hour went by fast and soon we were sitting in my car driving to Queens. "Mr. Stark, can I ask you a favor?" "Only if you call me Tony." "Ok, Tony, I write for the schools newspaper and I was wondering if I could by any chance make an interview with you." "Not something I would normally do, alright I'll do it." I think I have a soft spot for this kid. "And could you, maybe, no, forget it." "What? Go ahead and ask. I won't kill you or something." "IwaswonderingifyoucouldgetmeaninterviewwiththeCEOofGlobalNet." "What was it again? I didn't catch what you are trying to tell me so do me a favor and speak slower." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I was wondering if you could get me an interview with the CEO or owner of GlobalNet." "That's all? I thought you would want me to hack your school records and erase all the bad marks or something like that. I can't promise anything, but I'll ask her." "Her? I thought it would be a guy. I mean they make planes and engines." "The company was founded by two women." "Wow." "I'll see what I can do, but she's quite busy so I'll give you a call." We parked in front of his apartment building. "Thank you for the ride." "You're welcome, kid. But no word to anybody, it would ruin my reputation. Greet your unusually attractive aunt from me." "I will." I made my way back to the HQ as soon as the door of the building shut close behind him. This kid has a bright future ahead.


	15. Old friendships don't fade

Chapter 15- _**Old friendships don't fade**_

Emily's POV

A few days have passed since I returned to doing my job. Tony called yesterday, he wanted something, but didn't get to tell me what since I got called away on a meeting and when I called back he didn't pick up. He was probably caught up in his workshop again. I'll just call him later, I suppose. My schedule for this afternoon is cleared for I have a special visit to make. But not the Avengers or the UN or the White House, I'm going to see my old friends Charles and Raven at the mansion. Last time I've been there was sometime in April, Charles was telling me about his X-Men, who were with Raven on a mission. Maybe I finally get to meet them or at least Raven.

"Bye Katie! I'm leaving." "Have fun! And don't you dare to come back in today." "Nah, I'll do my best." I went up to my apartment and changed into a blue jeans and a white T-shirt. Looking at my reflection in the mirror I got a funny thought. I could easily mix myself between Chuck's students and I'm 119. My colleagues think it's funny to make everyone believe I'm a teenager and if anyone asks about my age, they just leave the one hundred out. Maybe it will be useful in recruiting the X-men into the IPA. You know, spying on them.

I jumped in my car and headed to Westchester. I met Charles at Oxford, when Liz shipped me off to England for vacation, not voluntary I might add, like always. So I used the time to gain new knowledge. Charles' lectures caught my attention, we talked, he introduced me to Raven and by the time I was leaving we were good buddies promising to keep in touch. Which we did for decades. GNC is kind of sponsoring Xavier's school. It's a safe haven for people like us so why not.

I walked up to the front door and knocked. A young girl with a white streak in her hair opened: "Hello! How can I help you?" "Hi! I have a meeting here with the professor." Charles came rolling from around the corner. "It's alright Rogue, this one I'm expecting. Emily, welcome, you haven't aged a day I see." "It's the genetics my friend." I gave him a hug. We sat down in his office. "So, what's new in your life? I heard you're having an Expo with Stark Industries next year." "Yeah, that is true. Other than that I work for the UN, lead the IPA and the Avengers; keeps me busy. Hey, do you plan to take the kids to the Expo? If so, I could give you guys a tour." "That would be great. How about I give you a tour around the school, we have renovated." "Sure, I'd like that. Where are your X-men by the way?" "They're on mission, Raven's with them if you want to ask about that." "Yes that too."

We finished the tour and sat down in his office again. "You applied for the X-men to be part of the IPA, right?" "Yes, is there a problem? We didn't get a reply yet, you know." "No, not at all; I just need to take a look at their work. We do it with every team, write a report on them and then we decide whether it's yes or no. Since your missions are mostly unplanned and we also check the behavior of teammates outside mission and personal evaluation, I was wondering if I could go undercover here, at school. It's the easiest way, we already did something like this a few times, the thing is that if they know about it they usually act different. So what do you say?" "I agree, when do you want to do it?" "The end of this month, so in two weeks. I want to have it done before the expo." "Alright then, we can arrange that." He answered with his typical smile. "How is the planning by the way? I heard Tony Stark is a tough one to work with, given his history." "Do not worry about that, after all those years we're in business I'm well trained in dealing with him. He's not so bad, immature sometimes, yes, but not bad. We've known each other for almost 30 years, so to be honest he does behave different with me." "I see. You are friends then." "Yeah, that we are, not just business partners. He's a nice guy but only shows it to a small amount of special people. And the Avengers are a really great team, they always have each other's back and I have to admit I feel privileged to be a part of the team. They're my boys." "Maybe you could introduce us sometime." "I will, Charles. That's what I'm sure of."

We said our goodbyes and were looking forward to meet in two weeks. I drove home, calling Tony to see what he wanted. Only to get Friday, so I left him a voicemail. We'll see what he wants later, I'm going to see them tomorrow anyway. I looked at the files Charles gave me. Name, codename, mutation, eye color, hair color… No pictures. Jean Grey-telepathy and telekinesis, the phoenix force (sounds familiar), codename Phoenix; Scott Summers- shoots lasers from his eyes, codename Cyclops; Raven- shape shifter, codename Mystique; Hank McCoy- monkeylike appearance, codename Beast; Logan- feral, healing factor, adamantium covered skeleton, 3 claws in each hand, codename Wolverine… This will be an interesting mission. I fell asleep on my desk that night.


	16. TGIF

**I just moved to the dorms and started uni, so I am not so sure about the next update. The work is already in progress, so please be patient, I will finish the story I promise that.**

Chapter 16 - TGIF

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead." Came a soft voice accompanied by a kiss. My eyes fluttered open, Tony was kneeling in front of me, his smiling brown eyes making butterflies flutter in my stomach and his hand caressing my face. I lifted my head from the desk and we both stood up. I hugged him. "What are you doing here?" "Well, for one we kind of have trouble to talk on the phone and what is more important, I missed you." "You do realize I was to come around lunch. And it's half past eight. Damn, I'm late. I have to get to the office. How long have you been here by the way?" I started to move towards my room to get dressed but Tony held me tight. "No, you're not going anywhere. I'm kidnapping you, talked to Katie and asked nicely if I could among other things, don't worry. She was kind of glad, told me a few things, nice girl. Next week you have no meetings with business partners or board meetings so you don't have to sit in your office, you can work from where we'll be. By the way, you have enough vacation time to easily cover 4 years; do you have anything to say about it?" "I know that, but…" "Ah, no buts. You and I are gonna spend the next week together, just us. GNC is fully capable to do without you for a week as is the IPA and the UN. All your teammates and colleagues are with me on this one, you are overworking yourself, healing factor or not. Pack some things so we only have to stop by and take them on Sunday. But first I brought donuts." What is going on here? Did I wake up in a parallel universe or alternate timeline or what? Ok, so let's sum it up: Tony wants to get me to spend time together- normal; by teaming up with my colleagues- weird, but within limits; to get me out of work for a week- actually they wanted to do it for a long time, overheard them planning it; so he came to see me at work- still normal, he does this when bored; on Friday morning at 8AM- crazy, he doesn't wake up until 9 most days and he brought breakfast. I put my hands up in defeat and followed him to the kitchen.

"How long did you plan this?" "I didn't. I came to your apartment at eight and found you asleep on a bunch of files. Actually I wanted to move you to bed, but you started growling at me. So I went down, talked to the boys first, then to your assistant and a bunch of other people. I asked about your schedule for today and the next week and since there was nothing in there, we made a plan to get you out of here. So basically the whole company is behind this. Those people like you very much, girl, and they are worried about you." "Okay, you can tell them I surrender. I can't really go against all of you. But if anything, I'm only a phone call away. Where are we going the next week by the way?" "You'll see, my young padavan. The force shall be with us for our journey." "You guys watched Star Wars last night?" "Yeah, all of them. We briefed Vision in about it. Now go get dressed and pack, I'll clean the dishes. Oh, yeah, pack warm, it's gonna be cold there." This day is only getting weirder each second; Tony cleaning dishes.

While I was packing, Tony left to inform probably the whole company of his success. Few minutes later when I was sitting in the living room, my phone rang. The caller ID told me it was Charles. "Hi, Chuck!" "Hello, Emily! Are you busy now?" "No, not at all. Why?" "I was thinking about our conversation yesterday and I have an idea, but it would change the arrangements a little." "Ok, what is your idea?" "How about instead of a student you'd be a teacher here. For one you'd get a better access to the X-men and I could really use someone who could show the kids that the world is a great place even for people like us. The other thing is, you know more about technology and progress than most of us here and I'd be very thankful if you could give a few lectures to my students. So what do you say?" "I think it's a great idea, Chuck. Ok, we'll make it like that." We chatted for a few more minutes.

Tony came back with a satisfied grin on his face. Obviously his plan was a success. "So where are we going?" "I won't tell. But first, Peter asked me if you could give him an interview for the school newspaper." "Sure, no problem. When?" "Don't know, but you should have seen his face. He was so scared to even ask." Tony sent a text to Peter as we made our way to the car. "Can you at least tell me where we're going?" "Washington."

Tony parked the car in the parking lot of the Smithsonian Institution. "We're going to the museum?" "Yes and no. We're going elsewhere. But first we'll visit the museum." I just followed him. We spent the next few hours at the museum complex followed by a walk down the Memorial lane. I have to admit it was a nice way to spend Friday, much better than sitting in the office. "Now what?" I asked after we stood at the reflecting pool for 5 minutes. "We'll have dinner, go back home and watch a movie with the gang. So, did you like the date?" "Didn't even know it was a date, but yeah, absolutely. Thank you for the nice day." "Someone has to save you from you." "Tony, you're such a nice guy, so why are you playing asshole to the public?" "I'm just nice to people who deserve it, so do not ruin my reputation by telling people." "Ah, no worries I won't. Honestly, I'm not looking forward to pesky paparazzi." "Me neither. By the way, just to clarify, we are in a relationship, right? As in stable, girlfriend/boyfriend kind of?" "I guess." "Good." We were back at the car by then.

The main room was anything but silent by the time we got there. Obviously the Avengers got themselves a karaoke machine. "We bought this thing yesterday, didn't get to try it out yet." Informed me Tony. "Then how about screw the movie and let's join the party." "I thought I'll never hear you say that." "I just want to hear your voice again." "You little vixen, but you will sing too." "Deal."

Even Fury, Hill and some other SHIELD stuff joined our party. The boys aren't bad singers, but Tony is just awesome. I'm pretty sure he could release an album without it being embarrassing. I remember we used to sit by the piano all the time and sing; solo or duet, everything that came. It was a perfect way to enjoy Friday night.


	17. A walk to remember

Chapter 17 – A walk to remember

After a rather amusing weekend with the Avengers we picked up my stuff and headed north in an SUV. Tony still didn't tell me where we were heading. But I had to take my passport so I'm guessing Canada; I mean what else is north? I tried my luck again: "So where are we going?"  
"You can guess but I won't tell."  
"Canada?""Yes."  
"You said pack warm, so the Rockies?" "Yes again. I checked the weather, it'll be freezing."  
"We're staying at a hotel?" "No, we're not."  
"A villa or house?" "No to both." What do we have in Canada? I know he has a house, but that's not in the Rockies. If we stayed in the Canadian Rockies we would always use…my cabin. Why didn't I think of that in the first place?  
"My cabin?" "Ding, ding. We have a winner."  
"Do you have the key?"  
"Snatched while you were packing."  
"Did you turn the heating on?"  
"Oh, crap. That I did not."

More than 4 hours after crossing the border and a shopping stop later we arrived at our destination. There was snow. This year it arrived a bit early I suppose, it was only the beginning of November. We had a bit trouble to get the car up there, but that was expected. Since it was very cold, unloading went fast. I used my powers to light the fire in the fireplace while Tony brought tons of blankets down. We cuddled up on the couch. The bedroom is upstairs but since the cabin wasn't preheated in advance like it should have been, it was freezing cold. Normally if I go here I power the heating up from home at least a day prior to avoid situations like this. The cold doesn't bother me, it never did, but not everyone is an ice-queen, like my friends sometimes call me, because of my power to control water and eventually freeze it. I put the heating on maximum and joined Tony by the fire. We slept through the night cuddled up under blankets on the couch, the bedroom upstairs being too cold to go there.

The next day the house was prepared for normal existence. I was standing in the kitchen finishing lunch, when Tony wrapped his arms around my waist, lifted me up, dragged me outside and threw me in the pile of snow he obviously prepared. When I finally dug myself out, I found him laughing like there was no tomorrow standing next to the snow pile. Oh, he is so going to regret this. I stood up, brushed the remaining snow off of me and used my powers to throw the entire pile he threw me in at him, making sure he does not get hurt. That he wasn't expecting, because he looked like a sad puppy once he finally stuck his head out of it. It was my turn to laugh, revenge can be sweet. This started a snowball fight. After we were both dripping wet, we ran inside and sat down by the fireplace. Our schedule for the next days was pretty much the same. Wake up around noon, eat, get thrown in the snow, throw snow at Tony, snowball fight, dry by the fire. We would build an igloo and go shopping for food, or just watch TV. That was until Thursday.

It was early in the morning and I was making tea. "Let's make a trip." Tony blurted out as soon as he entered the kitchen. "Where to?"  
"Niagara falls, you'll like it. So pack up the hotel is booked already." I just stood there like what just happened.

Well, anyway I packed up, turned off the heating and joined my boyfriend who was impatiently waiting in the car he dug out from the pile of snow that had fallen the previous night. In the evening we arrived at the hotel and checked in. After a change of clothes, Tony decided it was time for dinner.

After dinner we took a walk by the falls and ended up in a bar. There was music, the lights turned low. On the dance floor, there were some couples dancing. We ordered our drinks and sat down by the bar. We watched the band playing familiar tunes of slow love songs, eventually taking a break and getting switched out by a guy sitting behind a computer playing songs. Tony excused himself for a moment and I returned my attention back to the crowd. Some people were dancing, others were happily chatting at the tables. Finishing my drink I heard a good known voice coming from behind me.

"Hey Emi! Remember our song?" "Our song?" "You know; the one we danced to at my high school reunion." "Yeah, I do." "Then, my love, this is for you. Come here." I stood up and took his hand. He pulled me to the dance floor and we began to dance to _Everything I do (I do it for you)_. Tony sang along with it. _Look into my eyes, you will see, what you mean to me…_ He held me so tight I could feel his heart beating. The sound I love the most.

The song ended, but we remained in the embrace. "How can you tolerate me so much? Especially after I hurt you?" he asked sincerely. "Because… Because you're my friend, friends forgive. If you love someone, you open yourself up to suffering. It's sad, but still true. Someone may break your heart, or you break someone's heart, but those are the risks of love, Tony."  
"I love you so much I don't want to let you go, ever again. You are and forever will be the queen of my heart, this I promise you."

 _ **Meanwhile at the Avengers HQ**_

"What do you think they're doing?" asked Rhodey. "No idea, do you think he's gonna go for it? Check." answered Bruce while playing chess with Vision. "Maybe." "I believe Mr. Stark will make his feelings towards Emily clear within the next few weeks. Given the statistical data potential couples tend to do so after so much time spent together." "I wouldn't rely too much on statistics Vision; this is Tony we're talking about." "Yeah, Bruce is right. But he's probably still coming to terms with having Pepper no longer by his side." "True. Let's place bets…"

 _ **Back to Canada**_

We left the bar and started to walk by the waterfalls back to the hotel. Something was off, I could tell. Tony seemed…shy, actually. "Something wrong?"  
"No, not at all. Why?"  
"Ever since we left the bar you act strange. If something bothers you, we can talk about it."  
"Yeah, right, it's nothing really, I was just thinking."  
"Penny for your thoughts?" He smiled. We walked to the observation deck and leaned on the railing.  
"So what were you thinking about that made you go silent for so long?" I asked sleepily. He smiled shyly, took a deep breath and said: "I was wondering if, maybe, you would become my wife someday, like for real." Now I was wide awake.  
"Are you proposing?"  
"Yes. I promise I won't hurt you ever again, if I do feel free to kill me. The truth is I can't imagine my life without you, Emily. Whether things were good or bad, or if I made a crazy decision, you were always supportive and helped me to keep it together, you always had my back. I can't bear to lose you, so what is your answer?" I just stood there, tears welling up in my eyes.  
"Yes, the answer is yes."  
"Thank you."  
"For what?"  
"For being probably the craziest person in the world."  
He pulled me into a hug. Then he took a box out of his pocket. "This was my mother's ring; it was given to her by her mother. She liked you very much, you know. Like a daughter. She gave it to me when I turned 21, said to give it to you since I'm not a girl nor do I have a sister, when the time was right. I don't know how she knew, but she did. I think this is the right time and place." He slipped the ring on my finger. It was beautiful, simple silver with an icy blue crystal. I took his hand and looked up. "By the way did you know your mom wanted to name you Natasha if you were a girl?" I turned and started walking away. "What? You know a lot more about me than I thought, what else did she tell you I don't know about?" He ran after me. I just laughed.

 **Yeah, so don't you guys think it will be only romance and wedding planning from now on, the next chapter will be taking place at the X-mansion. The big reunion is coming!**


	18. The ghost of you

**Hi guys! Here's the first chapter about Emily's stay at Xavier's school for Gifted Youngsters. It will be written in a third person's POV, because I think it will fit better. By the way if anyone wonders where I came to Tony being named Natasha if he was a girl, google Iron Woman or Natasha Stark, it really exists. Enjoy!**

Chapter 18-The ghost of you

The week passed too fast for Emily. After returning from their week getaway and playing 20 questions with the Avengers who were very happy about the outcome of the week she returned to GNC as she was no longer banned from her office. The news spread with the speed of light and by Wednesday the entire company knew their boss was finally engaged. Everyone agreed on it to be kept out of the press by any means. Emma almost chocked Emily when she found out (she hugged her too hard) and got the role of the maid of honor of course. She was leaving for Paris in a week with her boyfriend. Anyway, the weekend came and Emily left her home with a packed suitcase in the trunk of her car and a box that was meant for the Avengers.

"Hello my friends!" she said entering the main room. A triple "Hey Em!" came from the kitchen. Vision emerged through the wall. "I have something for you guys." Emily held up the box. "What is it?" Tony asked and everyone gathered around the bar. Emily opened the box and pulled out its contents. They were badges, shiny and new IPA badges for the Avengers. "Everyone has their own badge, so, you like them?" "That's cool." said Rhodey as he inspected his badge. "We'll be like agents." Bruce added. "You basically are agents of the IPA and the UN insists on having some kind of identification for each member so I thought this is the best. You probably also noticed it doesn't have your actual name on it, but only your codename. It's part of our accords, no names, just codenames. Exception is you, Bruce. You have a double card, if you turn it around there is your picture with codename Bruce, sorry couldn't come up with something better." "That's fine, thanks." "But can't badges like this be falsified?" asked Vision. "With the technology they are made and security features I would like to see someone try." smirked Emily and then turned her attention at Tony who was eyeing the badge with eyes like a child a Christmas tree. He just loves badges. The five friends spent the next few hours talking, watching movies, fooling around and finally fell asleep.

With Saturday morning came the time of departure. "Boys, behave, don't cause a war or something, you won't be having any missions on your own for the next two weeks, but you may get called by the other teams if they need. In this case, you listen to their leader, understood?" said Emily when they stood in front of the entrance. A unison "Yes ma'am!" was what she got. "Oh, and don't let Tony cook, we all know how it works out." "Hey!" came a trying-to-sound-hurt reply from our armored Avenger. "And one more thing, I want you to choose your leader, as in my second in command, so I can send you off to missions even if I'm away on business. You have two weeks for that. I'll miss you guys, now come here so I can hug you all." A big group hug later, Tony was driving Emily to Westchester. They agreed on this, since it would be useless to have a car there and in case of emergency she can always be picked up by a jet or teleport. Oh, and Tony wanted to know who the guy Emily calls Charles is.

Charles was already waiting on the front porch for them or rather for Emily. "Hi Chuck!" said Emily exiting the car. Tony followed swiftly. "Hello to you, too, Emily! Mr. Stark, it's a pleasure to meet you in person, not only on the news." "Likewise." replied Tony, obviously uncomfortable and relieved at the same time. Emily and Charles chatted for a few more minutes. "I hate to jump into this conversation, but I'm gonna go now, so, if you don't mind." said Tony. Emily walked with him to the car, where they exchanged a hug. "Don't forget to call and if something, anything is wrong, just let me know and I'll be right here. I will miss you." "Likewise, Tony." Then he leaned in and whispered into her ear: "I love you." "Love you, too." She whispered back. Tony looked at her and planted a soft kiss on her forehead and made his way to the car. Emily held onto his hand until he was too far to reach. With one last smile he turned his head, entered the car, shut the door and drove back home. Emily stood there watching the car until it disappeared completely out of her sight, then turned to walk in with Charles who saw the whole scene. He smiled at her as she blushed. "It seems that you can't believe everything the news says." "No word to anyone about that, Chuck." "But you tell me everything." "Deal, I would have done it anyway, you know." Emily threw the bag on her shoulder and followed Chuck. He led her down the corridor on the first floor. "This will be your room, mine is across the hall. The next ones on this floor belong to the other X-men. They will be back within 2 hours, went to pick up a few new students. The young ones are here though. Meanwhile make yourself a home and come meet the children. I will gather them in the main hall." "Alright, give me five minutes." With that Charles rolled out of the room and sent a telepathic message to the pupils and young X-men to gather under the staircase.

As promised, 5 minutes later everyone was gathered under the monumental staircase in the main hall, with Emily standing uncomfortably in the front next to Charles. She really hates being in the spotlight. Charles began his speech: "You all wonder why I called you here. Let me introduce you to someone. This is Emily Stark, she's an old friend of mine and for the next two weeks she'll be teaching here. The lectures will be available for everyone and will be aimed on science as well as business and the place of mutants in the modern society. Your schedules for the next two weeks will have shortened lesson duration. Now, Emily the word is yours." He motioned to Emily to speak up. "Ok, so hello everyone! As Professor Xavier already mentioned, I'm Emily Stark. You can call me Emily, no Ms. Stark please, I don't really like it, makes me feel old. I should probably tell you something about myself, so I'm a mutant just like you, my main powers being telepathy, telekinesis, healing factor and three pretty shiny claws in each hand. My company's name is GlobalNet Corporation. As for the rest I'm the ambassador for mutant and superhuman affairs for the UN. If anyone of you has some questions for me, don't be afraid to ask, now or later, I'll answer if I can. It's a pleasure to be here with you." After the speeches were finished everyone went their separate ways. Charles went to his office; Emily chose to take a look around the grounds. A young girl with a white streak in her hair she recognized from before came up to her. "Hi, I'm Marie!" "Hi! It's nice to meet you, Marie." "So, you are the CEO of GlobalNet? That's awesome." "Yes, it can be exciting." "And you're also a mutant and an ambassador. How do you do that?" "I'll be honest, it can be a handful, but it is manageable." "Wow, that's cool." "Can I ask you something, too?" "Sure." "Why are you wearing gloves? It's not that cold." "Because of my mutation. If I touch someone, I drain their energy or life force, I could kill them easily. That's why." Marie replied sadly. "I know that feeling. I remember having the same problem long time ago. If you want, I could help you with it." "Really?" "Really." Both girls talked for another hour or so until they saw the Blackbird approaching. "Well, looks like they are back." Emily said as they watched the jet landing from the kitchen window. "I have to warn you, Logan can be grumpy and very impolite so to say at times, also he's sarcastic so don't mind it. He's a good guy, too." "Don't worry. I have one like that as a best friend, I'm used to it. And on top of that I tend to spend my free time with the Avengers." "That's cool." "If you want to, I could take you to visit them with me sometime." "Really? I would love to."

Chucks voice echoed through their heads telling Emily to come to his office. The girls parted and Emi did as she was told. "I see you already found yourself a new friend." Charles said as Emily sat down in the chair opposite his. "Yes, she's a very nice girl." "That she is." The office door opened revealing the X-Men. "Emily!" shouted Raven as she saw her old friend and hugged her. "It's good to see you, Ray! We have a lot to catch up on." "Logan is fueling the jet, he'll be here shortly." said the white haired woman. "Ok, then. Everyone this is Emily Stark, she'll be teaching here for the next two weeks, like I told you before. Emily this is Ororo, also known as Storm, Jean Grey, Phoenix, Scott Summers, Cyclops and you already know Hank and Raven." explained Charles pointing at each of the X-Men who were exchanging handshakes. Everyone chatted a bit, asking Emily about herself till the door burst open. The room fell silent as the Wolverine entered it. "Hey, Chuck. It took a while to fill her up since One-eye here used almost all the fuel. Who's the kid? I don't remember bringing this one with us." "Logan this is Emily Stark, the teacher I told you about." "Yeah, right. Well then welcome. I'm gonna go hit the showers." "Alright everyone dismissed, Emily, stay here please. I'd still like to discuss something." Even though Emily managed to have a good poker face ever since Logan entered the room, once the door closed she collapsed onto the chair wide eyed with a pale face. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Emily looked at Charles and a single word escaped her mouth: "James…"

 **The next chapter will take on from this point, written in mostly from Emily's POV. The question is: Does James remember his former fiancé? And how will it affect Tony and Emily's relationship?**


	19. Reunions and revelations

**I know the engagement may have seemed a bit rushed, but I wanted to speed things up a little and they were already married anyway. Back to Emily's POV, it wouldn't make sense for me otherwise. Takes on right where chapter 18 ended.**

 **Oh, and one more thing:** _ **I get that not everybody likes the story I write here, but it's not like I'm forcing them to read it. Don't like, don't read, pretty simple, isn't it. Constructive criticism I can accept, but telling me to "Stop writing." without practically giving me the reason to (I don't accept Marysue as a valid reason), come on. I made a promise and I fully intend to keep it, because as long as there are people who like it, then there is a reason to finish the story.**_

Chapter 19- Reunions and revelations

"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." I looked at Charles and a single word escaped my mouth: "James…" "Who?" Charles doesn't know much about my first actual relationship or the end of it. "Someone I knew a long time ago. A friend I thought I lost forever." I answered; right now I'm not in the mood for heartbreaking stories. "Logan? You knew him?" "Yes, but I knew him as James. James Howlett, he went by Logan every now and then. But it's been decades, I doubt he remembers me." I wanted to avoid storytelling as much as possible. "Maybe the two of you should talk. He lost most of his memory due to the experiments of the Weapon X program, the same one you encountered. He's not the most diplomatic person in the world and definitely not one of the polite, like you had the chance to see, so don't take everything he says personal." "Charles, does the name Tony Stark ring a bell? Don't worry, I'll be fine, but I admit that when I knew Logan, he wasn't such an asshole like now." "Ok, then. You need anything; you know where to find me. Good night." "Night, Charles." Phew, that was close. I went to my room and collapsed on the bed.

After several hours of tossing around I gave up on getting sleep, so I just went to the kitchen to get some water and spent the rest of the night, well let's just say I finished a week's work and sent it over to GNC servers. They are totally going to scold me for it, especially if they see the time. I may be the boss, but I can't hold it against them, they care, even more since this one time I actually collapsed because I overestimated my healing factor (worked nonstop for almost 2 weeks). Well, I managed to take a nap this time for about two hours. When I woke up the moon was still up, but it was already 5AM so I thought it would be a good idea to wander around the mansion grounds. There is a place Ray and I used to go if we wanted to chat in peace, sometimes Charles would join us too. It is a lake is hidden in the woods of Chuck's grounds. We found it on accident, Raven and I; we were talking and walked into the woods, not that any of us was paying attention to where we were going until we stumbled over a big branch and fell into the water. It took us quite some time to get out of there, though.

So I walked through the walls of the mansion, careful not to wake anyone and morphed into my wolf form. Like that I ran through the forest to the lake, where the silvery moon reflected in the water. I swam a bit in the lake, until the sun started to rise, then shook off the water from my fur. Sneaking up to the mansion I made sure no one was around, I morphed back and sneaked to my room. An hour later the mansion came to life. Students and their teachers roamed down the corridors making the previously silent place a buzzing beehive. My lectures start in the afternoon, so I had plenty time to watch my subjects. Sometime later I was roaming the corridors of the subbasement. Hank was doing experiments in the lab with his group of students of all ages.

The first day went by pretty fast, the kids were curious about everything as were the adults. Logan, for some reason, was staring me down with a killer look on his face and avoiding me as much as possible. I'm actually thinking about shortening my stay here, one week will be enough for observation and I have practically no idea what I'd be telling the kids next week. Nighttime came and I drifted off to sleep.

 _I sat on the front porch of my old farm house on Canadian borders. Two figures were chasing each other around the old oak tree. "Alright, Alex, give your old man a break." a voice I recognized as Logan's said. "Sure, daddy." Said the boy, around 6 years old, and followed Logan, who was walking to the front porch. Logan grabbed Alex and put him on his shoulders. They were right in front of me, when the ground ripped open and both of them fell in._ My eyes shot open. I tried to breathe it through, but I started to cry anyway. Alex was my baby boy who never got a chance to live. He's buried on the grounds of the house I dreamed of under the oak. It is one of the things I don't talk about. After Logan/James got shipped off to the pacific front, I found out I was pregnant. He never knew. I was already back home at the time. Few months passed and when I was about six months along it happened. Walking around the small town I stopped to listen to the pre-Christmas speech of our mayor. He talked about the heroism of the soldiers and I couldn't help but think about my baby's father. He didn't come back since the war ended, no letters from him. I don't know where the shooting came from, I was so caught up in thoughts I wasn't paying attention to my surrounding. Some crazy leftover Nazi started shooting around and of the bullets hit my stomach. The wound healed instantly, but the bullet never exited my body, instead it hit the baby. He held on for an entire week, but lost his fight. I gave birth to a dead baby boy on 20th of December 1945. The bullet was still stuck in his heart. I named him Alexander, because he was strong and I buried him on the grounds of my house and planted an oak tree next to his grave. It is a place I visit every so often and the actual reason for Christmas being depressive for me. The years passed, the tree grew, the pain never left.

I went to the kitchen and sat down by the counter, burying my face in my hands. "Can't sleep?" I turned to see Logan standing in the doorway. "No, I had a very bad dream so to say. You?" "Same here. Want a beer?" "Sure, thanks." I normally don't drink alcohol but now I really need it. He sat down opposite me. "You know, you smell familiar." Way to start the conversation Logan, right to the point. "You don't beat around the bush, do you?"  
"Not my style. I bet Chuck told you that…"  
"You lost your memory? Yes, he did."  
"Good. So what keeps you up at this hour?"  
"Wow, I never thought of you as the person to talk." He raised an eyebrow telling me to keep going. "I'm used to having nightmares, but this one was different. I dreamed about a man I once knew. We met sometime during world war two. I was a nurse, he was a soldier. Nice, charming guy, silent and mysterious. He had a brother who was his complete opposite, rude and violent. Well, anyway we became friends, fell in love and got engaged. We planned on getting married once we got back to the states since the war in Europe ended, but he got shipped to the Pacific. The plan was we would live together in a farm house I had, by the Canadian borders. He promised to write, to let me know he was fine, but no letter ever came. I dreamed about being at the house and he was there, happy, then he disappeared into a hole in the ground. I thought he got killed there in Japan somewhere, until yesterday." "Interesting story, I admit, just out of curiosity,what was his name? And where did you see him?" He has a right to know. I looked up. "James, James Logan Howlett and I'm looking at him right now."


	20. When Past and present collide

**Hi, guys! Sorry it took me so long to put up this chapter but I was very busy with school. Anyway, I'm having a dilemma here. Do you think Emily should tell Logan about their son, or not? He has a right to know, but he never knew she was pregnant in the first place.**

 _ **Thanks to those who are still with me. Have fun reading!**_

Chapter 20- When Past and present collide

"James, James Logan Howlett and I'm looking at him right now." I lifted my head to look at him and to say he was shocked would be a big understatement. He was staring at me, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, not even betting an eyelid as I waved my hand in front of his face. "Logan, you're ok?" he shook off the shock from his face. "Yeah, I just didn't expect this turn of events. Is this why you came here? To find me?" he said in a voice I'm not sure whether to describe grumpy or angry. "No, I had no idea you were alive, not to mention where you were, until you showed up with the other X-men in Chuck's office. He knows I know you, by the way, but I never told him the whole story." I smiled to myself as I played with the beer bottle in my hands. "So, what should we do now?" asked Logan. "I don't know." We sat a few minutes in the silence, if you don't count the uncharacteristically loud humming of the fridge.

"We could try and become at least friends." I tried. "Sure, that could work. But you'll tell me everything you know about me and this conversation stays here between us. Deal?" "Deal."

"Tell me something about you, first. For some reason a name pops up out of nowhere when I look at you. Does Liana ring a bell?"  
"You were the only person ever to call me that. It's shortened for Emilianna, my actual name, I go by Emily mostly. Tony calls me Em, Emi or Elianne, but only you called me Liana." "Can I still call you that?" I nodded. "Ok, so I take it you're seeing someone."  
"Yes, actually I got engaged last week, but don't tell anyone please. I take it you heard about Tony Stark."  
"That Iron man? Girl, you really have a thing for assholes don't you?"  
"He's not that bad. I think the two of you are pretty much alike. Maybe you could meet him. My turn now; are you seeing someone?"  
"It's complicated. Anyway, the sun will be up soon, so we better disappear before it gets too crowded here. You know, maybe you could join us in training today if you'd like, we could teach you some pretty awesome self-defense techniques."  
Why on earth does everyone think I'm helpless? At least this time it does have a good outcome. "Sure, I'd love to join you." With that we parted to our rooms. Or at least I did. I saw Logan heading to the woods out of the window. To say it wasn't expected would be a lie, I just thought he'd do it sooner, like take off in the middle of the conversation or something.

As Logan said the halls soon filled with students. Until lunch I gave some lectures and then joined Logan, Ororo and Hank in the kitchen. Scott and Jean were shouting at each other for some reason none of us was interested to find out. "Is this normal?" I asked after 15 minutes of listening to the almost unbearably loud exchange of opinions between the two X-men. "Yes, it basically started a month ago, when Emma Frost came to visit. One eye has hots for her and Jean noticed. The worst part though is that she is supposed to move in here, so this is only getting worse every day." Logan answered my question while trying to figure out a way to get rid of the noise. "Wait a second, I'll block the sound." Using my powers I created an almost soundproof bubble around all 4 of us. "Thanks. I didn't know there was a way to use telepathy or telekinesis like this."  
"It took me long to figure out how to, but sometimes you get pushed by circumstances, you know." Ororo and Hank who up until now observed the conversation, decided to join in.  
"So, Emily, you are pretty much like a mixture of Logan and Jean, right? I mean a telepath with a healing factor. You're sure the two of you aren't related?" Logan's eyes grew wide at the question as he spit out the cola he was drinking all over the table.  
"No, we're not. I'm not his and Jean's daughter if you wanted to ask that." I said as I removed the fluid from the table. "I also have a number of secondary mutations, like changing into a wolf, controlling water." Ororo nodded and it was Hanks turn.  
"I remember you have claws, too. They used to be bone, but now they are covered in some sort of alloy, right? Logan's are covered in adamantium, by the way." "I know. It's adamantium-vibranium alloy, Hank. It makes them flexible and allows me to change form, because vibranium is bio-compatible."  
"So, how has your life been?" "Pretty much all about running a company, then the politics and other stuff. Everything is just running too smoothly, so I'm worried what catastrophe to expect this time. Something is bound to go wrong soon. But a friend once said to me, that things are not beautiful because they last. So right now I'm pretty much enjoying an almost perfect life, even though trouble always comes around. And you?"  
"As usual, teaching, working in the lab and I'm glad I don't have to be in politics anymore. But I'm more interested in your love life. Finally found someone you actually let under your skin?"  
"As a matter of fact, I did. His name's Tony and could you please not get into big brother mode?"  
"When will you bring him by?"  
"He'll come pick me up. Or I can just call him and hope that they didn't blow up the facility yet." "Who is they?" asked my three conversation partners. "The Avengers. But I meant Bruce and Tony; they have a tendency to blow things up." "Ah, yeah Charles mentioned you work with them."  
"It has a big plus, working with them. You never get bored. Thez are troublemagnets." "That sounds familiar." We laughed.

Soon it was time for a training session. To say the air in the Danger room was thick wouldn't be far from the truth. And it got even worse when I walked in wearing black yoga pants and a white t-shirt. "What is she doing here?" said Scott turning to Charles, who was in the control room. Before Chuck could answer, Logan said: "She's here, because I invited her to join us. You got a problem with that?"  
"Yes, you should have asked first. We can't just let anyone into the training facility."  
"Right, because all of our students go here for PE."  
"That is different." "How so?" One eye was left speechless and Logan had a point. Then Charles finally got to word.  
"Scott, Emily was here before anyone of you. Trust me, she already knows it here and she is more than welcome to join you in training. I also think Logan would enjoy finally having a new sparring partner." Scott held up his hands. "Alright, but she first has to show what she can do. You will fight me; I will go easy on you since you're a beginner." If you say so, I thought to myself and smirked.

Cyclops decided we would fight in an old warehouse, so that is what the room changed into. The rest of the X-Men were on the observation deck with Chuck. The fight was over in less than 3 minutes, much to Logan's amusement as I made Scott fall on the ground face-first. He shot a laser beam at me first, which I avoided. This continued until I managed to get into a good position behind some boxes. I then used them as a spring, jumped and landed behind Cyclops. All there was left to do was a swift movement on my legs and he was on the ground in no time. It didn't help his mood or his ego. If he wasn't so pissed and paid attention instead, the fight would have lasted a lot longer. "Looks like I don't need to teach you self defense after all." Came Logan's voice through the speakers.

The rest of the training I sparred with Logan. Scott and Jean were on no speaking terms and the rest of the gang was good company. In the evening we all sat down in the living room and talked till late night. Or early morning, pick one.


	21. Tony and Logan meet

**Hey, guys. I hope you're still with me. I wish Iron Man and Wolverine would be in a movie together, it would be awesome, too bad we won't get to see it. Enjoy this chapter…**

Chapter 21- Tony and Logan meet

Wednesday morning was a sunny day, probably the last rather warm one, so lessons at the school were modified and held outside for a change. Some kids were with Ororo studying plants, others with Beast watching animals, Logan and Jean were watching kids who were playing basketball and Scott was with a group talking about some math stuff. Charles, Raven and I were standing on the terrace observing the scene and catching up on life. "So, Em, you finally got a man in your life? Because if not, it's about damn time." said Raven, while Chuck was smirking, obviously remembering the scene on Sunday. "Actually, yes; as off last week I'm engaged." Raven shrieked so loud everyone on the grounds turned to look at us. I just wanted to disappear and Charles was just smiling complacently, you know his typical smile look with the nodding.  
"Raven calm down, it's not like it's that big of a deal." Now her eyes grew wide.  
"Not a big deal!? You weren't able to move on after your last boyfriend for decades and now you're engaged so don't tell me it's no big deal, because it freaking is!" The whole mansion was still staring and Logan even more.  
"If you want to know more, we better move this inside." "Why?" I turned her so she would see our audience. "Oh, right let's go inside and you will tell me everything." "Alright." That's when my phone rang, it was Tony. "Speaking of the devil. I have to pick this up, be right back." With that I disappeared in the mansion.  
"Hi, Tony!" "Hey, I was starting to be worried that you didn't call yet."  
"Sorry. I had my hands full and… You know, I forgot." "You sound a bit distressed. Everything ok? You have nightmares, don't you?" "How do you know?" "I just know you, you have the kind of _I didn't sleep for nights in a row, have terrible nightmares I want and don't want to talk about at the same time_ voice. So wanna tell me what's going on?"  
"You really know me too well. Alright, you better sit down, there is something I wanted to tell you anyway." "What are you pregnant?" "What? No. Tony, how could I possibly be pregnant if we never, you know." "Sorry, I didn't think. Ok, I'm sitting."  
"James is here."  
"James? As in your old fiancé James, as in that guy you thought was dead when he didn't come back after war James?" "Yes, that one."  
"Wow. This is the last thing I expected you to say." There was a pause and then he continued with a dead serious tone. "So what do you want to do now? Do you want to break off our engagement? I mean you loved this guy so much you waited for him pretty much until last year, so if you want to get back together with him…" "Tony, no. No, I don't want to end what we have, I love you and I couldn't wish for someone better. I just thought you should know he's here. He lost his memory by the way." "Oh, ok, so we're not breaking up?"  
"No." "Alright, I just wanted to be sure. So what are those nightmares of yours about?" I swallowed, took a deep breath and said a single word. "Alex."  
"That's bad, very bad. I remember you used to have those nightmares around Christmas. So what triggered them? Oh, right."  
"Yes, I think so too. Do you think I should tell him?" "Honestly, I think you should. He deserves to know it."  
"You know it is kind of weird with you being the voice of reason. Could you do me a favor?"  
"Yes, it is weird. So, what can I do for you?"  
"The box with pictures I keep under my bed, could you bring it? Logan, sorry James, he goes by Logan now, he would like to learn something about his past and…" "You want to help?" "Yes, so could you?" "Sure, I'll stop by in the afternoon. I want to see this guy."  
"Ok, see you then, bye!" "Bye!"

Raven was already impatiently waiting in the living room. "So shoot. I want his name first." I sat down next to her. "His name is Tony, Tony Stark." ""What? The famous Tony Stark, Ironman/Stark industries CEO, playboy, genius, narcisstic Tony Stark?"  
"Yeah, that one. He's a nice guy."  
"You never read about him in the magazine or watched the news or YouTube? Ok, he's a philanthropist and hero and he supported the Accords, but… I just don't want to see you hurt." I took her hands and looked her in the eyes.  
"I appreciate that, Ray, but I met him at the MIT, before he became like that and trust me, the true Tony is not the one you see in the news. Ok, he can be annoying sometimes, but he always means well."  
"Ok, let's say I trust you. But the more important thing is, does he love you?" I smiled. "Yes, he does. And I love him."  
"Alright, so, when do I get to meet him?" "Oh, he'll stop by in the afternoon, I asked him to bring me something."  
"Perfect. Let's join the rest, because with the audience we had, they all will be wondering where we went."  
"Raven, could you please not tell anyone who it is? I'd like to keep it out of public as long as possible. I'm pretty sure Chuck already knows."  
"Sure thing, but I'm pretty sure everyone will know sooner or later once he arrives." "Rather later."

It was sometime around 3PM when Tony arrived in his beloved orange Audi R8. Raven, in her natural blue form and I were sitting on the steps in front of the mansion, waiting for him. "Hey, Tony! Long time no see." "Likewise." "This is my long time friend Raven." "Hello, Mr. Stark."  
"Please, call me Tony." Then Raven leaned and whispered into his ear. "You hurt her and you're dead."  
The poor Tony only replied a scared "Yes, ma'am." while I was trying to hide my laughter.  
"Here's the box you wanted." He said as he took the box from his passenger seat.  
"Thanks."  
"So, where is he?"  
"Ok, you'll get to meet him, but I have to put this thing away first." Together we walked to my room, where I placed the box.  
"He's in the backyard, Tony. Follow me." "Who's he?" Raven asked. "Logan, Tony wants to meet the Wolverine." I gave Tony a _Don't you dare to tell anyone about it_ look, which he nodded to in agreement. We stepped out on the terrace. "Logan, could you come here, please." The Wolverine didn't hesitate once he picked up a new scent. Tony stayed hidden in the shadows so that he wouldn't attract more attention than necessary. Raven took Logan's place at the basketball court and we went to the living room.  
"So, you're Logan, right?"  
"Yes, and you must be Tony Stark." They just stared at each other, arms crossed. Can this end well?  
"You're her fiancé, right? I heard a lot about you from all around, but she says you're a good guy. But if she's wrong, I'm telling you, you better treat the girl right or I'm after you."  
"What gives you the right to? If I recall, it was you who left her." Shit, I'm hoping they won't kill each other. Only Tony is proud enough to argue with the Wolverine and look him in the eye. Logan stared him down. "I like you." he finally said with a smirk. "You have guts and weren't afraid to tell the truth. You're right, it was me who left her and I just wish I knew why. Want a beer?"  
Phew, thank god. Now they were both smirking. They are much more alike now that I see them next to each other.  
Tony stayed for a few more hours and him and Logan seemed get on well. Too well. Those two were definitely up to something and it wasn't going to be good. The girl went crazy when they saw Tony, but it's nothing we wouldn't be used to. Once a few group pictures were taken they let him go. We parted in the front on the mansion with a kiss and I waved him goodbye as I watched the car disappear into the night.

Tony was right, if I want to get rid of the nightmares, I had to tell Logan about Alex and I had to do it as soon as I could. That would be tonight…


	22. Alexander James Howlett

**This chapter will give us two different views on the situation. It will have both Emily's and Logan's POV and will pretty much reflect their inner thoughts about the whole situation. Enjoy!**

Chapter 22 – Alexander James Howlett

Logan's POV

I thought today wouldn't end. We had to babysit outside, 'cause Chuck wanted the kids to enjoy the last warm days. Nothing against outside, but the noise is what bothers me. Then there was the episode with Mystique screaming because our special guest got engaged. Emily, she really is a nice girl. I'm having a few doubts about the story, though. She didn't lie, I could tell from her smell, but she didn't tell the entire truth. I just met her on Sunday, not at my finest hour, but I feel like I know her. Even though I behaved like an idiot in the beginning she's still willing to help me recover pieces of my past. How in the world did a lady like her end up with me?  
Last night I had this weird dream. But I think it wasn't a dream, it was a bunch of random memories of her and me. She said James, so that's or was my name, James Howlett. I wonder how much more she knows about me. The dream, she was standing on the front porch of a farmhouse, it was July I think. Yeah, something like that. I remember telling her I'd be back and then we'll get married, a promise I obviously didn't keep. _"Don't worry, I promise I'll be back. I can't die, remember. We'll live a long peaceful life together in the farmhouse, have tons of kids and eventually grandkids, and we will never be alone in this world, never again." I wiped the tear from her face. "I'll be waiting for you." I pulled her close and kissed her one last time. Then I turned to board the truck to the base. She held on to my hand until I was out of reach._ There were also some flashbacks from the time of war; she was a nurse, that's how I met her. And her smell is something I couldn't get from my mind. Her smell, now that I think about it, why did she smell sweeter in the farmhouse than the rest of the memories? Something was different about her back then.  
I look at her; she's sitting on the couch in the corner of the room, with Marie asking her about Tony Stark, her secret fiancé. That guy is a textbook narcissist; I don't know how she can stand him, but also a badass which I like. He's not afraid to tell the truth, defends the weak ones, he's smart, but he's still an egocentric asshole. We have a lot in common though. Jean is talking to Storm. She and One eye are not talking, again or still, I have lost track. One eye's ego is probably still bruised from the last training. He's complaining to Charles about me being bad influence for the kids, because of drinking and smoking. Where am I? Drinking beer and watching TV. Beast is in his lab; a typical evening at Xavier's School.

As the hours flew by, the number of people in the room grew smaller. Now at about 10PM, It was just me, Chuck, Jean and Liana. The girls were talking about the position of mutants in the modern society and some biology stuff I didn't understand. Something about genes and genetics and DNA, not that I care. Well, an hour later everyone parted ways and most of us went to sleep. I didn't bother, a nightmare would have woken me up anyway and so I grabbed a few more bottles from the fridge in my room and went to the kitchen.

Emily's POV

I entered my room and looked at the box sitting on the bed. Tony brought it. _"Tell him as soon as you get the chance, he deserves to know, it was his child too." "I know, it's just hard." "He won't hate you for it; I don't think he's the type. If you need me, just call, I'll always be there for you." "Alright, thank you. You really are my best friend, Tony." "Well, I'm the best of best. On top of that, I'm a genius and I am Iron Man." "And your ego is going wild again." He gave me a hug and a kiss and then left._

Logan was exactly where I thought he'd be. Not in his room, but in the kitchen, nursing a beer. "Hey!" I said as I entered the kitchen with the box in my hands. "Hey, yourself. Couldn't sleep?" "Didn't even try, to be honest." He looked down at the box. "What's in the box?" "Old memories, pictures of the past. You wanted to know more about the past, didn't you?""Yeah, so want to move it to the living room? There'll be more space." "Sure, I don't see why not." We sat down on the couch and I opened the box. Inside, besides the usual content, were two bottles of whiskey and a note in Tony's handwriting saying:

 _Thought you two might need it afterwards._

 _Love, your awesome fiancé Tony_

He had a good idea. I set the bottles on the table and took out the photo album. There were a few more in the box, like that one from the MIT, but right now, the most important was the one I held in my lap, labeled _James & Emilianna. _I looked at Logan and opened it. The first picture was us sitting in the bar, where we met. "That's where we met. It belonged to the army. Does it look familiar?"

Logan's POV

I looked at the picture. "Yes, it does. I think I remember some of it. You were there with the other nurses; you had this blonde friend…"  
"Ella?"  
"Yes, that one. She was drunk that evening and tried to flirt with me."  
"True. But you basically sent her to hell. Anyway, I went to apologize to you for her behavior after she ran off to find her next target. You seemed like a nice and intelligent guy, nothing like the drunken pigs there who only had two things on their minds. We started talking and agreed on spending some time together again. That's how it all began." I stared at her. What could I have possibly done to charm a girl like her? Looking into her eyes I see a… Her eyes, the color, I didn't even notice. It's been haunting me for years in my dreams and I never knew why. Turquoise with an ice blue star in the middle, the reminder of a promise I did not keep and of a love long lost. I wonder why I didn't come back to her. For the next few hours she proceeded to show me pictures and tell me the stories behind them. Until we came to the last third of the album, where she suddenly stopped…

Emily's POV

To say I was terrified to turn the page would be a big understatement. This was the last part of the album; it took place after the war in Europe was over. I closed my eyes and looked at the bottles of whiskey standing untouched on the table. Tony was right, even though I don't drink; I think we are both going to need a drink once this is over. Here we go. I turned the page. There was a picture of me and Logan sitting on the front porch. Ella took it. "Hey, I remember this place." Logan said, pointing at the house. "Really?"  
"Yeah, I had a dream last night. Bits and pieces came back, that's how I remembered your friend and this house."  
"That's great. What else do you remember?" I asked flipping the page to a picture of us on a meadow behind the house.  
"This looks familiar. Damn did I have that thick hair?"  
"Yes, and it was fluffy and soft to touch." He gave me a death glare. "No way are you telling this to anyone."  
"Or you'll do what?" "Please?" "Alright. I'll keep my mouth shut, wouldn't want to ruin your reputation." We flipped through a few more pages of pictures of a happy couple, till I stopped on a certain one. "This was taken the day you left." "It was July right?" "Yes, how did you know?" "I remembered how we parted…" I could feel tears building up in my eyes, but I was determined not to let a single one fall. "And I remember one more thing." I tilled my head and looked at him. "What is it?" "Your smell, it was different from the other times, different from now. It was much sweeter than it normally would be." I closed my eyes. "Yes, it was."  
"But why was that so?" This is the point of no return.  
"It was because… It was because of something I didn't know the day you left, something I found out a few weeks later. Logan, the day you left, I was already pregnant with your child." There I said it and now I'm looking at the 'extremely interesting' carpet.

Logan's POV

What did she just say? My jaw dropped. Pregnant as in expecting a child, my child. I run my hand through my hair, I wasn't expecting this turn of events. She was obviously scared to look at me, to see my reaction, so I put a hand on her shoulder. It worked, she looked up, tears forming in her eyes. "So, what's its name?" She wiped the unshed tear from her eye. "Alex. Alexander James Howlett."  
"A boy?" I had a son, wow. Emily turned the page of the album.  
"Can I meet him?" I asked while looking at the pictures. There was a picture of her, pregnant, sitting on the steps of the terrace. The next one was of her and the woman I recognized as Ella in winter. She hesitated to turn the next page.  
"No, you can't." she said with her eyes closed. "Why?" Emily turned to the last page of the album. There was a picture of a really tiny baby, wait they weren't supposed to be this small, were they? The other she was covering with her hand. She finally lifted it and said. "Because he didn't make it, he was born dead." The final picture showed a stone next to a growing oak tree…

"What happened?" I asked after a few minutes of complete silence. She leaned back and began to tell the story. "Christmas was coming and I was walking around the small town. Around that time I was about 6 months along. I stopped to listen to the pre-Christmas speech of our mayor. He talked about the heroism of the soldiers and I couldn't help but think about you. I don't know where the shooting came from, I was so caught up in thoughts I wasn't paying attention to my surrounding. Some crazy leftover Nazi started shooting around and of the bullets hit my stomach. The wound healed instantly, but the bullet never exited my body, instead it hit the baby. He held on for an entire week, but lost his fight. I gave birth to a dead baby boy on 20th of December 1945. The bullet was still stuck in his heart. I named him Alexander, because he was strong and James Howlett was from your name. He's buried at the farm house, I planted an oak next to his grave and it's really big now. The picture of him, Ella took it. She said that if you ever come back, you may want to know what he looked like." I couldn't help but hug her. "Shh." She cried a bit and then Looked at the table. "We might as well open those bottles." "Good idea. I am really starting to like Stark."


	23. Morning after and hiding in the shadows

**Hey, guys! I have prepared a looong chapter here for you. I hope you'll like it. Emily's gonna discover some secrets and put the X-Men on one final test. Enjoy!**

Chapter 23- Morning after and hiding in the shadows

" _I'm on the Highway to hell…"_ Where was it coming from? Right, my phone. I woke up with a pounding headache. Logan was literally hanging over the edge of the couch. "Hello?" "Hey, Em, I just wanted to check up on you, see if everything turned out alright. By the way there are also painkillers somewhere in the box." "Tony thanks, that was very thoughtful. Wait, how do you know I need painkillers?" "Um, I kinda got into the security system of the school yesterday, so I'm watching you through the security camera. I did it in less than 30 seconds by the way. Tell them to upgrade the security…" "You've been spying on me? Tony!" Logan started to wake up. "Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to make sure he didn't try anything on you and I was curious, too." There was a loud noise behind me, which turned out to be the Wolverine in person falling off the couch. "Tony, you can't just hack everything you want and stop being jealous." "Yes I can. And I'm not being jealous." "Really?" "Really." I didn't believe a word he said. "Tony, normally I would assure you that nothing happened, but since you already watched it, I don't have to. But trust me to have a heart to heart about this with you once I'm back home." "I guess I deserved it. Ok, bye, love you." "You did. Love you too. Bye."

I turned to Logan, who was also fighting a headache and was very amused by the phone call. "You guys have to update your security system. Tony managed to hack you in less than 30 seconds. A 'normal' person would need approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Want painkillers?" "It's not like they work. I'll tell Chuck about the update." "Those pills actually do, I had bored biochemists one time and gave them something to do. Works on headache and I'm not sure if something else too. I can get you some more to keep, if you want." "Sure, that would be great." "Here you go. I'll bring the box up in the mean time." I stood up, but Logan stopped me. "Emily?" "Yes?" "Those pictures, I was wondering if I could get copies of some of them." "Sure, no problem, I have them all digitalized so I'll just bring my laptop and we'll sort it out." "Thanks."

Soon Logan and I were sitting by the kitchen island with breakfast going through pictures. Logan chose those he liked or wanted, including the one of Alex. "What's in this folder?" he asked pointing on the screen. "There are pictures from my years at the MIT, where I met Tony?" "Show me those." "No." "Come ooon." He put up those puppy eyes of his I could never resist. "You obviously remember your tricks. Ok, here." Logan started randomly clicking on pictures. "You look weird with those glasses. So, not you. But Stark, that guy looks like the party king, just like now." "What do you know?" "I can read people." "Okay, let me show you this one. Tony has it framed on his desk, he thinks I don't know." The picture showed Tony and me on our original wedding day, but I didn't tell Logan that. It was also the day of some MIT ball or something where we headed straight from the courthouse. Tony and I were dancing waltz to a song whose name I don't remember, but I don't really care. Anyway, the picture shows us dancing, me in a pale blue dress **(the link's here if you're interested(the blue one) . )** and Tony, handsome and sexy as always, in a tux, lost in each other's eyes. "Wow, now that's a different Stark. He really does love you." Was all Logan came up with. "He does, but he's still sad about how things ended between him and Pepper. She was his world and then she broke up with him. I can understand why, but it's still sad." "They won't get back together, right? I mean the two of you are engaged." "And Pepper got married in August." He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word. I decided to change the topic. "So, you like this place?"  
"Yeah, I do. It was always all homey, but sometimes I'm going crazy, 'cause I hear everything. I mean I kind of got used to the kids and those other noises, if you know what I mean. And the closer Frost's move in is the worse are the fights between Jean and One eye. Jean's been a bit moody lately, probably because of it." "I'd say there's something else behind Jean's mood swings. You love her, don't you?" He scanned the surrounding to make sure no one was listening to us. "Yeah, but I can't have her, she chose One eye. And what did you mean by something else?" "I'll only say it hangs in the air." He tilled his head and raised both eyebrows. "What is it? Some weird gas that only affects her?" "No, dummy. Now who's better at reading people? Try again." "She told you about it, right?" "No, she hasn't. And from your reaction I'd say neither did she to anyone else. Just sniff, you'll get what I mean and if not, I'll explain when you older." I said as I patted him on the head, something he did not like at all.

Few minutes later Jean walked in. "Hey, guys." She said a bit sleepy. "Hi, Jean." "Jeany." Logan said with a warm smile, which lit her face up. Once she turned to face the coffee maker, Logan started sniffing. "Ok, you're right, something's up. Wait, form what you said last night, is it what I think it is?" "I see you paid attention at class, Logan. To answer your question, yes." Jean turned around totally confused. "What are the two of you talking about?" Logan took the chance to check the newly learned skill. "Are you pregnant?" "What? No, or at least I think so. How did you come up with this anyway?" "Your smell gave you away. I'd say you're about 2-3 months along." I filled in. "It's something I learned from working with people at GNC. When you're around long enough you start noticing things." Jean thought about it for a while, making counts in her head then she put her cup on the table and sighed. "I'll go and make a test. If you're right, I want to know every single detail. And no word to anyone about that, understood you two." "Yes, ma'am." We replied at once. She can be scary when threatening people.

Jean returned about 10 minutes later with a big smile on her face. "You were right." She squeezed us both so hard I thought my skeleton will bend. "Now tell me, how did you know?" So I started to explain everything about the change of smell, intensity and blah, blah blah… Logan tried to look like he was listening, but he was really staring at Jean. He adores her. When I finished, he said: "It's good to see you so happy, Jeany, it really is." "Thank you, Logan." Jean said as she blushed. Why does the universe have to be so unfair? They would be a nice couple. I guess it's too late to play matchmaker. Well, whoever said you can only love one person was definitely wrong.

After everyone parted for the lessons, Charles and I had a chat while playing chess. "So, you came to a conclusion yet?" He asked, not lifting his head from the board. "I did, but to be totally sure I'd need to see how they work as a team, on an actual mission or at least training. Otherwise, I'd say they get on well. I know the dynamics of the team is a bit on edge now, but it does not look to be getting worse. The rivalry between Scott and Logan pushes them to do their best, to beat the other. The team leader is Scott, right?" "Yes, that's true." "Did you try it with anyone else, Raven, Hank, Logan or Ororo maybe?" "Not really. Raven once led the team, but that was long ago. Hank's not really into it. Storm and Logan would be worth a try. Why?" "No real reason. I was just curious about the chain of command here. Most of the teams under the IPA have one, like a second in command for each case. I even have some teams with two or more leaders; they take turns on missions so nobody gets frustrated and respect each other. You know, if you have more than one leader type, it can get rather difficult and you basically have two alpha males here." "Interesting, I never thought of it that way. I can call a big training with all the X-men present for today, if you want to." "Thanks, that'd be great. I had Tony bring my uniform too, and I'm planning on some team exercise. Something like them against me. I need them to work together to find a solution and see how they behave towards the environment, their surrounding." "All of them?" "All of them." "Check mate, by the way." "Did I ever beat you?" "Not yet."

Charles called the big training for the evening, once the kids were in bed. Jean stayed in the observation area, coming up with the excuse of feeling like she caught a flu, which I accepted without complaints. All X-men were gathered in the danger room ready in their uniforms when I walked in. Logan let out a wolf whistle. "You didn't expect that, did you?" "Nope. You look amazing." Then he realized he said it out loud. Charles' voice came through the speakers. "Today's training will be about teamwork. The objective is to capture Emily here." Wait, what? When did he come up with this? I said fight, not… Screw it, might as well do both.  
The scenery changed to a big dark forest. Well they'll have to find me first and given they were on the other side of the room, it might take a while. Charles spoke from the observation window. "Alright, here's your objective. Emily, also known as Wolverine or Accalia, is a very powerful mutant and a possible threat. She is hiding in the forest after escaping a military facility where she was tortured and now she sees everyone as a possible threat. Be careful and watch out, because you never know where she is. Good luck." So that was your plan Charles? Clever, I like it. Now, let's see how good these guys are. I smiled to myself and changed into my wolf form…

I doubted my sense of smell until I picked up the hushed voices. I hid behind the closest, yet biggest tree I could find and listened to their conversation. "I think we should split up and search in smaller groups, it's a big forest." "Wow, I didn't know you could come up with a good idea, Logan." "You know what, One-eye…" "Hey, this isn't a time for one of your testosterone fights. We'll split in groups and go searching." said Ororo shutting the two up. The big group was split by Scott in 2 smaller ones, with Logan getting the youngest X-men, Bobby, Marie and Kitty, in his. Scott, Ororo, Hank and Raven were in the other one. Logan stared his group down. "We'll meet on the clearing north from here, you have it in your GPSs." "If you can find it, One-eye." "You know what, how about we make this a competition? The loser team is on kitchen duty and laundry for the next two weeks. What do you say, Wolverine? Or are you scared?" "Oh, never and especially not of you. But interesting is that you announced it after you split the teams. You think you can win? I'm looking forward to seeing you in an apron. I'm sure we have a pink one somewhere…" With that the groups started to go in opposite directions. Great, what am I supposed to do now? Split in two? I watched Logan's group as they formed a circle. "Ok, you know the objective, kids and I'm adding a new one – beat Cyclops. I'm not able to pick up her smell, which means she is either too far, underground or can hide it somehow. You're X-men and will be going on missions on your own someday and since this is training, the question is, how would you proceed?" Wow, I never thought about Logan as the educational type, if you know what I mean. This would be interesting to watch, but I have to go and check on the other group.  
The adults group, I'm just gonna call them that, was also discussing their tactics. "Alright, what do we know about our target?" "Well, she's a mutant, a feral telepath. She has metal on her skeleton." said Storm. "But she mentioned having secondary mutations, too." added Beast. "Like more than those you already mentioned. Do you know what they were?" asked Scott. "Weather control and something with elements I think. There was one more she mentioned, but I don't remember." Storm also shook her head. Then Raven spoke up. "Emily is a kind of shape shifter, too. I know she can change her hair and eye color, but not her face." _But she can change into a wolf or a phoenix._ I completed her statement in my head. "Ok, we'll just head this way in a half circle to the clearing and we'll see." "You do know if we lose this childish bet you made up, we will lose and I'll blame you." "No worries Storm, Logan couldn't pick up her smell and he has the young ones to babysit. And if he's on kitchen and laundry, maybe learn to be civilized." "This rivalry between you two, I'll never understand."  
I didn't bother to listen to the rest and instead headed to the clearing myself. It came up as the best possible solution, since there's no way to look after both groups at the same time, for me to lure there on the clearing. It had a lake, so I decided to sit on the shore on a big rock and howl on the moon. Let's see who'll be here first.

It was at least 30 minutes later when I started to heard the kids&Logan group approaching. "So that's the meeting point. One Eye's not here yet." "Hey, look. There's a wolf. I've never seen one before." said Marie. "It's just a computer simulation anyway, Rogue." said Bobby. "True, it is, but when do you get to see a wild wolf in the forest." added Kitty. I turned my head and looked at them. "Logan, let's go closer." "Yeah, but hush, we don't want to scare it away. It's watching us." The group came a bit closer. I tiled my head to the side and sniffed. There was a time I was part of an actual wolf pack, so I learned from the best, which does not mean I can do it perfectly, but I'm doing my best. I stood up and jumped from the rock. The group stopped. Then Marie spoke in a hushed voice: "It's pretty cute." And Kitty continued: "I want one. Its fur looks so fluffy. I want to cuddle it." Iceman was the next to give its opinion: "I bet it has sharp teeth. But look at those eyes, they're icy blue." This got Logan's attention. "I don't know what they teach you in biology, but grey wolfs don't have blue eyes." "But this one does, look." He did. "That's because it's not a wolf." "It's not a fox either, Logan. What else could it be?" Before Logan could answer the next group came out of the forest. "Did you find her?" I sprinted away as a normal wolf would. "Now you scared the wolf away, Mr. Summers." said Kitty. "Wolf? Logan you were supposed to find the girl, not go on a hike to watch nightlife." "We did search, idiot, but when we came to the clearing and you were not here yet. The kids saw a wolf and wanted to observe it up close. You got a problem with that, I don't give a fuck. Let's rather search the next part." "So which way do you want to go?" "Kids, chose the direction. It doesn't matter to me." "Let's follow the wolf; I want to see it again." "Follow the wolf, huh. Which direction did it go?" To answer Logan's question the three young X-men pointed in the direction unaware I was currently watching them from. "Alright we'll follow the wolf, then." "Ok, we'll take that way and meet here again in an hour." From the distance I heard Scott muttering annoyed: "They'll be following a wolf, a wolf, because they want to see it. They don't bother about the girl." "Relax, it's not like she's easy to find or we would have found her by now. At least they have a motivation."

"Look, there it is!" Marie exclaimed. Busted! The bad part was, I had nowhere to run since I came to some bottom of a cliff, so I just growled while trying to escape along the stone wall. "I think we're scaring it! We should be more, like quiet" whispered Kitty. "Not it, her. And we didn't scare her at all. Stop running Emily, I don't have to smell your scent to know it's you." The kids stared at him like he was crazy. I stopped and turned. Cover blown; I looked at him, smirked and changed back into human. "What gave me away?" "Your eyes did, wolves don't have blue eyes. Plus we never have animals in training sessions." I nodded in acknowledgement. "Well it seems you guys won." "Well with a great team like this, who could lose? Good job, kids." The kids cheered at being commended by their leader. I sent a thought to Charles. _Break it off, I was found._ The forest began to disappear and the big grey room returned…

 **Next up, the outcome of the test, Avengers coming to the mansion and a peek on what the rest of the former Avengers are doing and where they are.**


	24. The Truth

Chapter 24- The Truth

The forest began to disappear and the big grey room returned… The adults team across the room was looking around wondering what was happening, at least until they turned around to face us. Charles and Jean came down to join us. "Debriefing in an hour, go get changed and cleaned up then we'll meet in my office." It's a strange feeling to get orders, especially if you are the one who usually gives them, but from Chuck I don't mind this time.

An hour later everyone was assembled in Charles's office. I managed to make a quick visit at GNC (I teleported) to get the accords and other papers I needed to give to the X-men. "As you all know, we're here to debrief the training, but today it will not be a usual debriefing. Emily, I suppose you should take on from now."  
"Thank you, Charles. Where do I begin, right, I should probably tell you the truth."  
The X-Men started to look around with questioning looks. "While it's true that I came to give some lectures, it wasn't entirely true. There is another organization which operates under my command, the International Peacekeeping Alliance or IPA for short. You probably guessed it's… Well it consists of teams that operate worldwide under the wings of the UN, battle evil, save the world kind of stuff. Our newest addition are the Avengers, for example. Couple of months ago, Charles here sent an application for the X-men to be included in the IPA. We followed all protocols, did a background check and the last thing that remained was to check how you work together, how you fight, the chemistry of the team, your morals and so on. Practically get to know everything we could about you. We watched a few of your missions but it wasn't enough and since the team has to be approved and Chuck's been asking me to come for a few months now, we, the board, decided that I'd go and check myself. This, what I'm holding are the IPA accords, you sign them, you're part of our recruit program and after successfully finishing it, you'll be proper part of the Alliance. The training process should last between two to six months depending on how good you are. What I want from you now is to read those papers through and decide for or against. I'll give you two weeks for that. Oh, and one more thing before I end. Kids, you were awesome, made good choices and didn't attack the me. How did you know to follow the wolf? I don't think it was just the curiosity behind it."  
The kids exchanged looks and Kitty said: "Well first we were curious, we never really saw a wolf before, not even on trainings like that."  
"So we approached you, studied you we waited if you'd attack us, but you behaved like a wolf would do. We looked closer, still you only growled." continued Bobby. "But when Logan said that grey wolves don't have blue eyes, we knew something was going on, so when we got a chance, we followed you and basically caught you in a trap. And then Logan exposed your cover." finished Marie.  
I smiled and turned to Logan: "You certainly got a great team."  
"That I did and I'm looking forward to see One eye in an apron."  
"Send me a picture, will you. And Ice Man, Shadowcat and Rogue, I would love to welcome you to GNC one day as well as the IPA." The young X-men's faces lit up, they should be praised like that more often I think, hell, everyone should, you wouldn't believe how much it can increase productivity. It was Chuck's turn to talk again. "Just to clarify, did they pass?"  
"I wouldn't have given them the accords to read if they didn't."  
"Alright, everyone get some rest now. Good night." "And the debriefing?" asked Scott.  
"Well, if you really want to, I saw what I needed to see. Ok, so I'll make it quick. I already praised the kids, so I'll finish that team. Logan, you did good making it a lesson for the kids, not just a training exercise, I admire that. Storm, you did great shutting the two of them up, Hank and Raven, the two of you did not change at all, which is good to see. You did what your leader told you to. Scott, first of all there is no need to bring unnecessary tension into the team, but you are a good leader so keep doing your job. Oh, and I wanted to apologize for bruising your ego the other day, but you should have paid more attention. That's basically all I have to say about this, if anyone has questions, keep them in mind and ask them tomorrow. Good night." As I run out of Chuck's office I heard Charles and Logan laughing.

The night was pretty peaceful. I met Logan in the kitchen at about 4AM, so we used the time to talk things through.  
"You know, Cyke's face grew totally red when you ran out. He's still pretty pissed at you for bruising his ego."  
"Nah, I'm used to it. He'll come around. Do you think Jean told him?"  
"I don't think so. She will eventually. Frost is coming tomorrow, it will be hell here. You're staying till Sunday, right?"  
"Yeah, The Avengers will come today, to spend some time with the kids, Charles is excited about it, more than the kids I'd say. That's probably 'cause they don't know about it."  
"Better keep an eye on Stark on Sunday then, Frosts quite a flirt. And she thinks she'll get whatever she wants."  
"No one's exactly looking forward to having her here, right? Why's she coming anyway?"  
"Well, Charles thought another telepath in the house could come in handy. Don't ask why, no one actually knows why she's coming. So, the IPA? You are sure as hell not a helpless creature. What can you do? Except fight, which I'd love to see, too."  
"You know what, I might as well show you. Come on." He followed me on the yard. The moon was out and I stood right under its beams. "Wait here." I lifted my hands and started levitating in the air. My hair grew a bit longer, a blue streak appearing in its waves. My clothes were replaced by a white overall with a cape resembling wings all shining like the moonlight beams with a bit of blue mixed in. The blue mark on my face appeared too as I slowly lowered myself on the ground. "Wow, that's impressing…" said the Wolverine, totally shocked. "That's not all." And I released Phoenix and Accalia, my two spirits.  
"Shit! I was hoping to lure you on a paring season before but never in a million worlds did I expect this." Calling my spirits back I smirked.  
"No one does, trust me; I've seen more horrified expressions than yours. If you still want the sparing season we can go." "Sure." We entered the danger room where we spent the next hours until dawn.

It was an exciting training. I showed Logan on some simulation what I can cause and he liked it very much, especially the throwing Magneto from the Statue of Liberty part for some reason.  
"You should stop by in GNC sometime; we can do more trainings like these."  
"Sure, or you can come here more often."  
"I could try, but I can't promise anything." By that time I was back with my old look, like my normal clothes, no cape or white overall and no white blue glow and freshly showered. "How come you still have the blue thing on your face?" I ran to the mirror. Just like Logan said the blue ornament was still on my face as was the blue streak in my hair. I closed my eyes and tried to make it go away, but it just wouldn't. It's not like it's the first time it happened. I don't know why but sometimes these marks of mine just last a bit longer and I can't hide them no matter how much I try. Well, it's doesn't look bad, the worst part about it is explaining it to people and I'm not exactly looking forward to it right now. Logan stood behind me looking a bit concerned. "It's okay, it happens sometimes. It shouldn't but it still does, I can't change it back no matter how much I try so I guess I'll stick for a while." "You're ok?"  
"Yeah, it just hasn't happened in a while, but the truth is I haven't used my powers to this extent for a long time, it just wasn't needed." "Let's go and eat something." He wrapped his arms around my shoulder and led me to the kitchen.

About three hours later after successfully avoiding people we were sitting in the living room while most of the mansions occupants were in class. It was raining outside and the Avengers weren't supposed to come by until afternoon, which is why we were both surprised to hear a car coming up the road. One of the scents I recognized as Magneto, we met on a few not-so-friendly occasions. The other was uncovered by Logan. "Damn it, she's not supposed to come until tomorrow." "Who?"  
"Frost, that bitch is here with Magneto. We might as well warn the others."  
"How?"  
"You're a telepath, send a message."  
Yeah, right, so I sent one to Charles. He probably got it, because soon the kids from his class were running through the corridors. Just as he came to us, the door opened and a tall blonde with Magneto in tow entered.  
"Hi, Erik! Emma, weren't you supposed to come tomorrow." Charles asked politely. You could tell he wasn't pleased with the situation either.  
"I know, but a day here and there, who cares." She said with an 'I can do what I want and don't care about others' kind of voice. Now I get why everyone is so 'excited' about her being here.  
"Where's my apartment?"  
"Logan, Emily, could you? I have to talk to Erik." We nodded seeing we didn't have much of a choice. Emma's room was on the far end of the hall upstairs. The 'queen' decided we would carry her suitcase upstairs. To Logan's pleasure the room was far enough from his. We entered the room. "Well, I see the bedroom. Where is the rest?" Logan and I stared at her. What did she expect, 5 star hotel?  
"Well, your bathroom is here and so is the dresser, a desk and a chair." said Logan blankly. When she turned back around to face the room, we quickly disappeared through the door. The other X-men were already gathered in the kitchen. They all looked at us when we ran through the door.  
"Wow, that bad?" Scott stated mockingly.  
"You have no idea."  
"What's that on your face, Emily?" asked Hank.  
"It's nothing, really."  
"It looks like a mark of some sort and you didn't have blue hair yesterday." Hank came too close in my opinion.  
"Alright, it's… Logan and I had a sparing season last night, he wanted to see the extent of my powers and…" "Well she is quite powerful I have to say, but, well this stayed on her face this morning. She said it was normal, that it happens sometimes."  
"Logan, I'm standing right here." The rest of the group was laughing, until the visitors decided to enter the room. Then it turned into uncomfortable silence. Charles called us all in the office; you could cut the tension there. Logan, Jean and I were standing in the back leaning against the wall sending telepathic messages to each other. _'You talked to Scott yet?' 'I tried yesterday, but he fell asleep before I could explain.'_ Jean and I shared a look, while Logan was just listening to the conversation. _'I don't like that she's here, she flirts with everything that breathes. If the Avengers come, you better keep an eye on them, if she can't talk them into what she wants, she'll use different methods.' 'Thanks for the warning; I'll keep that in mind.'  
_ "Jean, Emily, Logan, would you mind paying attention?" Charles said strictly.  
"Who is the girl, Charles? She's new here, but she does look familiar."  
"We met on a few occasions."  
"Are you interested in joining the Brotherhood?"  
"No, I meant the me-kicking-your-ass type of occasions."  
"Oh, then I see you've already decided." and leaned to Emma and whispered: "Check her out for me."

The Avengers arrived at 3PM. With a jet. "Guys, why didn't you take a car?"  
"Traffic was bad. Now come here, we missed you."  
"I missed you, too." A group hug, yey! Logan was watching from the terrace. Tony came closer and wrapped his arms around me.  
"But I still missed you the most." We kissed. No one saw us, the guys were shielding. I told them about what happened today and made sure to shield all of their minds against imposters (with their agreement, of course). We made our way towards Logan. "Hey, name's Logan. Em' probably told you it's a bit chaotic here today."  
"That she did, I'm Bruce."  
"Rhodey and that's Vision." Vision shook Logan's hand and we all went inside, where the excited kids were already waiting. Tony was enjoying the attention and everyone else was enjoying the stay. Of course Frost tried flirting and when no of the guys seemed interested she tried to use her powers on them. It threw her against the wall.  
"What was that? Are those all telepaths or something?" she asked as Magneto (what?!) was helping her up. It also peeked Chuck's interest.  
"You think there'd be so many of them?" "No Emma, they aren't telepaths. Those are humans."  
"Humans, really Charles?" I couldn't take it anymore, so I walked up to them. Magneto and his I hate humans. "Yes, humans, who are extraordinary and under my protection. Don't try to get inside their head, you won't succeed. The only thing you achieve is getting thrown into the wall again. Those people there, they mean the world to me, so you dare to attack them, hurt them or even try to harm them in any way, you're dealing with me and it won't be pretty. The same goes to all the inhabitants of this mansion or school or whatever. Understood?" Logan watched it with amusement.  
"You can be scary." "That wasn't the worst yet…"

 _ **Meanwhile on the other side of the world, or in Wakanda I think**_

The former members of the Avengers were sitting around a big table in T'Challa's (aka the Black Panther) residence. Clint stares at the picture of his family, Wanda, Sam and Scott are playing cards and Steve's staring into the wall thinking about Bucky, Peggy and Shannon. A loud thug on the roof has everyone at attention. It's Thor. "My friends, I have come with news of great importance. We all have to gather." "We're all here Thor." said Steve. "I don't understand. Where are Stark, Vision and Rhodes?" "They are not here and won't be for a while. What is the news?" "It is about the Infinity stones. The one known as Thanos is trying to gather them to gain all power and destroy the universe. Most of the stones are on safe places. Lately I found that except Vision's Mind Stone, the four powerful lesser known Dimension Stones should be here on Earth. We have to find them and protect them. And we have to do it before Thanos does. Otherwise we'll lose everything."

 **Thanks to those who are still with me and tolerate my crazy fantasy. The world we live in is not perfect, but that doesn't mean we can't imagine one, right? Anyway, what did I want to say…? Yeah, the plot will be a bit more jumping from place to place from now on, we'll have one more chapter with the X-men now and then a bit of a time jump. I hope you liked the story up until now.**


	25. Pain of life

Chapter 25- Because life's not fair…

 **Still in Wakanda**

"… _And we have to do it before Thanos does. Otherwise we'll lose everything."_ "But wasn't the Teseract the Space stone? You said that." asked Clint. "Yes, it is. But due to the importance of space and time, it was decided to divide them. The space stone is divided into 3 parts, each representing one of Earths dimensions and then there is another time stone." "Any idea how we should find them then?" Steve joined the discussion. "The All-father sent it to Earth as a crown to a royal family. There a princess was born; she was to be the most powerful creature on Earth, the protector of the stones. No one knows what has happened since then, but it was only about 120 years ago." "Only? Thor, no human being lives that long. Well, even if she'd be all old and wrinkled and weak." Wanda got a good idea. "What about her ancestors? Or we could search museums. There aren't that many royal families in the world and the crown jewels are mostly on display, guarded but we can still see them. We could go and visit those places or look them up on the internet." "It's a good plan, but we don't know how it looks like." "I brought a painting of it with me." Everyone looked at Thor. Steve smirked: "Avengers, we've got a mission."

 **X-mansion**

After the Avengers left, Charles gave me a speech about threatening people in his office. Once he was finished it was my turn to use what I learned about diplomacy and argumentation. "She wouldn't have gotten thrown against the wall nor would I have threatened her if she wasn't trying to get inside the Avengers heads. I was only protecting what is important to me. The Avengers are, as are all those kids here important. And the guys know things Emma and Magneto do not by any chance need to know." "I understand that, but… Ok, you are right, she shouldn't have done it." "Thank you Charles, can I go now, Logan is laughing behind the door." "Of course, just don't threaten anyone." "I won't unless the circumstances require it. Or unless someone really pisses me off." Charles waved me off. "Oh, and Charles, be careful, I can sense she's up to no good."  
Logan, just like I said was standing behind the door smirking. "Having fun?" "No one ever dared to do that before, then you come around destroy Frosts ego and argue with the professor and leave him without arguments. You girl, have guts." "Ah, stop with the compliments. The only thing I did was to use what I learned through the years and that is if anyone threatens the ones you care about and then come up with a diplomatic excuse." "Nice." Logan dragged me in the elevator, one hand on my mouth. I freed myself biting his hand. "Ouch. Why was that?" "Reflex. Why did you drag me here?" "Excuse accepted. We, as in the X-men, are having a secret meeting tomorrow night and want you there." "OK. I'll be there." "Good. Good night." said Logan kissing my forehead. He exited the elevator and went to his room with a grin on his face. I blinked and shook my head. Why are you doing this to me?  
Saturday night came quickly, thank god. Everyone was getting annoyed by Frost's ego. Magneto was also staying at the mansion. My best friend, also Emma (call it irony), sent me a message around midnight: _Looking forward to see you tomorrow. Plane is going to take off soon, it's delayed a bit. Carl asked me to marry him_ _.We can have a double wedding. We have a lot to talk about, meet me at the fountain at 10?_ _Love, Emma._ Carl was Emma's boyfriend or fiancé now. I smiled and typed back: _Congrats! Of course, see you there. Can't wait to see you again. Love, Emily._ God, did I miss her.  
It was past midnight when Logan came to my room and motioned to follow him. We entered the subbasement. Everyone was in the infirmary. I didn't think it was the best place for a secret meeting. "We're meeting here?" "Yeah, best place we could come up with." "You do know there are hidden tunnels under the mansion?" "What?" We entered the infirmary, Logan still with a confused look. "Why is Logan looking so confused?" was Jean's first question. "I just asked him if we were meeting here or in the tunnels." "What tunnels?" Ravens face lit up in realization. "You're right, I totally forgot about them. Do you still remember where they are?" I nodded. When everyone was still looking confused Raven began to explain. "Emily and I met while Charles was studying in Oxford. We spent a lot of time together, became friends and because this place used to be just Charles and I, and he was always busy studying, we used the time to check out every part of the mansion. The subbasement was hiding most of the secrets. We stumbled upon some doors and well, we made ourselves a hidden room in one of the tunnels. Charles knew about the tunnels and the room. It should still be there." "Yeah, with tons of dust. But it'll do." We walked to a wall next to Cerebro. It should be somewhere here. But we can't go through the wall; alright we can change its density and do it that way. Charles must have made sure there is access to the tunnels. "Any idea how to get behind it?" "Wait, I think there's some kind of a switch, one of the tiles is movable, like a door handle." I stepped back from the wall, closed my eyes and sent a telepathic wave towards it. Like a sonar. Ah, we have a winner. I opened my eyes again and managed to find the right tile. The wall slid down and we somehow found the old secret room again. "So, why did you want to meet up?" I asked once we settled in the room. "We just wanted to hang out a bit, sum up the week as we always do, but we didn't want Frost hovering behind our backs." answered Storm. "I get that. She doesn't seem to care about anyone else than herself and her ego." Everyone present nodded. We talked about the past week for a while and then Jean decided to change the topic to something more interesting. "Well, since we are all gathered here now, I'd like to say something." Logan and I already suspected what it would be. Scott turned to her and asked: "What is it?" "Well, I'm pregnant." Cheer erupted in the tiny room. Scott took a moment to recover from the shock, then he pulled Jean into a kiss and Storm turned to us. "Wait, the two of you don't seem surprised at all." "Well, they kind of found it out first, even before I did. It has something to do with smell." Fortunately no one seemed to be interested in details.  
"So, Emily, what are your planes for the next days?" asked Marie. "Well, I'm meeting my friend Emma today, she's returning from Paris as we speak and got engaged there. And we'll see about later. Probably go over Expo plans again and hang out with the Avengers." We talked till the morning came. After that we went to our rooms as quite as possible. I couldn't help but feel something was wrong, but I didn't know what.

 **Meanwhile at GNC  
** Tony's POV

"Do we have it confirmed?" I asked. "Unfortunately, yes. We should call Emily, tell her what happened and ask for further instructions." "No, don't. It's not something to tell over the phone. I'll go pick her up in a few hours, meanwhile, can't we launch a rescue? At least try? I know it's highly improbable for anyone to survive it, but…" "Actually, if you give the command, we can. In Emily's absence you are the one to approve missions." "Me? Why on earth would she do that?" "She did that like 20 years ago. We all agreed. Tony, she gave you authority over GNC, which involves the Wolf Pack. You aren't our commander, but you can authorize the missions." "So we can launch a mission?" "Yes. A direct command from an authorized person is all we need to overpower the UN Accords. It was clever from her to negotiate something like that. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to do anything without it having bad consequences." "Alright, every team available, suit up! Let's go and help the rescue teams, I'll go and pick Emi up and we'll probably join you, if you aren't back by then. Meanwhile, I order flags at half-staff. And Stark Industries will do the same. Now I have to figure out how to tell her." Every team, including the rest of the Avengers took off with their jets heading for the Atlantic. All flags have been lowered. I looked at the clock; it was time to pick Emily up.

Emily's POV

I finished packing the bag when I heard Tony's car coming up the road. It's not like him, to drive this slow. Logan stood there, leaning against the doorframe. "Let me help ya." He took the bag, leaving me to carry the box with pictures. Tony knocked the door and waited. He usually barges right in. Something is wrong, but what? Logan opened the door to let him in. Tony looked at me, faking a smile: "Ready to go?" "Yeah, sure. I'll just say goodbye and we can go." Tony took the box from me and tried to get the bag from Logan, too, but Logan insisted on carrying it to the car. While the two of them stood next to the car, probably talking, I said goodbyes. "I'm hoping to see you all at the grand opening of the Expo; I'll send the invitations soon." "We'll do our best." "You should stop by at GNC someday. Bye guys." "Bye Emily!" Logan gave me a hug in front of the mansion. "If you need anything or want a sparring session, you have my number." "I'll give you a call, Liana. See you soon." "See you."  
I looked at Tony, something was obviously wrong. "Tony, what's going on?"

Tony's POV

"Emily, maybe we should wait till we get home." "Tony, you're scaring me. Please tell me what's going on." The Wolverine was still watching us from the steps. "I'll tell you, I just don't want to do it here." "Tony, please. I have to meet Emma at 10 and I don't want to be late so just tell me." How do you tell your fiancée something like this? There are no manuals on it, I think. I know she's going to break down, but she wants the truth. I will have to tell her anyway. Looking in her eyes, I can't help myself; I have to do this now. I took both her hands and looked down in her eyes. "Emily, we got a call tonight at GNC. I'm not good at this… You won't be late for a meeting even if we stood here for hours. Emily, the call was from Emma's parents. I'm sorry, but the plane crashed into the Atlantic. No one had the chance to survive." Emily's face changed from poker to horrified. Tears started to build up in her eyes. "Please tell me this is some kind of a sick joke or a nightmare." "I'm afraid not." She looked so fragile. One hand on her mouth she sank down to her knees. I managed to catch her so she wouldn't hurt herself and cradled her in my arms, while she cried. Wolverine was shooing curious people from windows; he heard what I told her. It was a nice gesture from him, I have to admit. The sky darkened, soft rain started to fall. The sky cried with Emily. "Emily, come on, I'll get you in the car, we'll drive to GNC, ok?" I felt a nod against my chest. We slowly stood up, Logan run up and opened the door. "Take care of her, will you?" "Of course I will, thanks for help."  
We drove in silence; Emily's head leaned against the window, tears flowing down her face. I took her hand; she offered me a sad smile for that. "Teams went to help the rescuers. The rest of the Avengers are with them…"

Emily's POV

Emma's dead, she's gone forever. I'll never hear her voice again, see her smile. Tony held my hand. "Teams went to help the rescuers. The rest of the Avengers are with them. I authorized it, there'll be no problems. We figured you'd do something like that. What I don't get is why you made me the responsible person, but we'll leave it for later." "Thank you. Can we join them?" "We'll see. Depends on whether they're back or not. But, Emi, do you really want to go there? It will only cause you more pain." When we arrived at GNC, I noticed the flags were down. There was also a black one added to the three usual flags. I couldn't really see much, my vision was blurry from the tears. The building was silent, like it's normal for Sundays. We stopped in the big meeting room where the Wolf pack 1 (WP1), GNC's flagship team, was already waiting there along with WP2, WP3, WP4 and the Avengers. John, the leader of WP1 spoke up. "It's official, no one survived. We helped to recover the flight recorders but other than that there was nothing we could do. Most of the wreck is too deep to get to; some bodies were swimming on the water, but…" "I understand. Thank you, guys for everything. Emma was our teammate, our friend. Go home and get some rest." Everyone stood up and slowly with heads bent down left for their homes.

Tony's POV

I woke up late at night. The other side of the bed where Emily slept was empty and cold, the pillow still wet from tears she shed for her best friend. I searched the house, the yard, but she was nowhere to be found. Where was she? I started the car and slowly drew to the main entrance. The places I haven't yet searched were the office, apartment, training quarters and the rest of GNC. Turns out she wasn't in either of those so I went to check out the rest of GNC, starting with the park in the middle. It was a quiet place, she and Emma were supposed to meet there… damn it. I ran to the fountain in the middle. It was frozen, like water froze midair and the whole stone thing and the circle of few meters around too. On the fountains edge sat Emily, with hands on her lap, staring on the ground, pale like the ice around her. Her eyes were red from all those tears. The icy sparkle was gone; there were only tears and sadness in them. I slowly approached her, careful not to slip, sat down next to her and took her hands in mine, which caused her to look up. Her hands were cold, she was like ice. I wrapped my arms around her. After a while, I swear my butt froze to the stone, she spoke up: "Why does life have to be so unfair? And why when everything looks great, when people are happy, does it have to get destroyed? Why can't we be happy without it causing a catastrophe?" "We can't answer those questions, because we don't have the answers to them." "I know, Tony. I just don't get the 'why it always happens'. Why do people I love die around me every time I'm truly happy?" "I don't know, Emily, life is just too complicated to understand." "I don't want to lose you, Tony. What am I? The angel of death? Is that my fate?" "No, don't think like that. Come here, let's go home, sweetie. We both need sleep."

A memorial was held the following week. The bodies haven't been found yet. Every person from GNC was present, standing there, listening to Emily, as she gave the speech:  
 _"Today we gathered here to say goodbye to our friends, colleagues, teammates, son and daughter, brother and sister. I wish this could have been a more joyous occasion, I'm sure we all do. Emma was my best friend; she was here through ups and downs. She was the sunshine when dark days came, capable of making everyone laugh. We all knew her as the biggest optimist here. She was crazy, funny, smart, exactly the kind of person you'd love to spend your time with. And Carl, he was a silent person. He belonged to the best technicians we had, always responsible, innovative. Both of them joined the Wolf pack, they were part of our flagship team WP1. They found each other and after years of dating went to Paris together. Both of them were so happy to go, it's hard to say which one of them was looking forward more. They got engaged there. Emma sent me a message shortly before they took off. But…they never made it back.  
I'm glad I got to know them, but it hurts much more to let them go. Goodbye Emma and Carl, you will forever stay in our hearts." _

I took her hand as she stepped down from the stage. I knew she wouldn't hold it much longer, so I hugged her and held her tight while she cried. After everyone left, with the exception of the Avengers and us, we just stood there, looking at the black polished rock with two names and three dates written on it. And the sky cried again, until Emily fell asleep… 


	26. Shopping with Tony

**Hello there! Recently I was walking through the stores and every single one of them is already full of Christmas stuff. Seriously, it was even before Halloween. This chapter takes place in December.**

 **Disclaimer:** _ **I don't own the lyrics to the songs used, just borrowed them. They belong to whoever wrote them.**_

 **The songs names are My blue Christmas (sung by Kaitlyn Maher) and River(sung by Robert Downey Jr.) and of course White Christmas.**

Chapter 26- Shopping with Tony

"… _Every year those snowflakes start falling, and suddenly old memories start calling_

 _I'll be saying my hello´s to every Jo that I know,_

 _When I will see a vision of you in the snow_

 _We´ll have a blue, blue Christmas_

 _We´ll have a blue, blue Christmas this year_

 _Blue, blue, blue Christmas."_ I was sitting by the piano singing one of the saddest Christmas songs I knew. The boys were spread around the whole complex. Bruce in his lab, Rhodey and Viz with Fury at SHIELD and Tony was probably in his workshop. It was Saturday, about three weeks before Christmas. The whole GlobalNet was already decorated with tons of blinking lights, Santa's reindeers; the speakers were blasting Christmas carols and other related songs the entire day… I needed to get away from that. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, it's just that for me Christmas is just as beautiful and magical as it is depressing. "I see you're at it again, mind if I joined you?" I turned to see Tony leaning against the wall, his hair still wet from the shower he had taken. "No, of course not. How long have you been here?" "Long enough to hear about your Christmas depression and see you staring at the wall for two minutes. Now's my turn, move a bit." He sat down beside me and started to play _River_ , another beautiful depressing song. I leaned against his shoulder as he sang and closed my eyes.  
 _"It's coming on Christmas  
They're cutting down trees  
They're putting up reindeer  
And singing songs of joy and peace  
Oh I wish I had a river I could skate away on…"_

When he finished he turned his head to look at me and said: "The only thing this song is wrong in right now is the snow part, look." He pointed to the windows, it was snowing outside. "Now, how about something less sad.Pick one." "Since it's snowing, how about White Christmas…" I said. "I can play that one; here we go, feel free to join in. You know, just like the old times?" "Sure."

The song finished I looked at Tony: "Do you miss them, the old times?" "Sometimes, some parts of them. Why are you asking?" "I don't know, just wondering." "When are we going to your house this year?" "I don't know, I might as well call Logan, he mentioned he'd like to go there too. By the way, how come you're here and not your workshop? Not that I have anything against your presence, but it's near impossible to get you out of there voluntary." "Well, let's just say there was a problem I couldn't solve." "And you admit it, wow, never thought I'd see the day. So what problem was so big that the great Tony Stark couldn't solve it?" "You know, I'm starting to get the feeling I'm bad influence on you. I'm trying to figure out the best birthday gift for Bruce." "Yeah, right it's on December 18th, isn't it? And yes, you are bad influence, but someone has to be." "Yep, and I have no idea what to get him. We could get him something together. Let's hit the stores." "You wanna go shopping? Ok, we need to fill the fridge up again anyway."

It turned out to be a bad idea, but what else could I have expected. Going to stores with Tony Stark is like, well, imagine you walk through the mall with a dragon. Everyone looks at you, many want to take pictures and then they look at you like you are either crazy or took away their favorite thing. Thank god looks can't kill, I'd be dead like a hundred times already and we just came through the door. Maybe it was because Tony was holding my hand and the mall was crowded with people mostly female. I hate crowded places and was hoping we wouldn't go to this mall, but Tony was driving, so here we are. He's holding my hand so I won't get lost; at least that's what he told me.  
"What do you think about this?" "The same thing about the one hundred things you already shoved me." "What do you have against this one?" "Tony, I love you, but listen, Bruce is a scientist, an adult man. I just don't thing that Hulk-related toys and furniture and other items you've been shoving me for the last hour are a good decision. Besides, we already got him the big plastic roaring Hulk statue, so how about we move to another store and pick him something more… useful." We left the toy store after that. The statue was really in the car. It was thought as a fun gift, and we were looking for a normal gift right now, or trying to.

"This is a lot harder than I thought." said Tony as we finally sat down at the food court. "It is, especially if all the women are constantly trying to tug you away." "Jealous?" "No, but it's annoying that I always have to search for you and once I find you they're trying to kill me with their glances. But I have to admit, the look on their face when you told them I was your daughter, priceless." "Yeah, it works great. It shocks them for long enough giving us time to escape." "Let's hope it's not all over the news tomorrow." "Nah, it'd just be a short time rumor like always. It would only last until the Expo opening. I can't believe it's almost here." "Yeah, time flies. You really thing Bruce will like what we bought him?" "I think he will." "Good, but remember I wanted to get him the Hulk rug." "Sure… Now, let's go and get the groceries so we can get out of here."  
We made it out of the grocery store without a major incident. On the way to the car we encountered the one and only reporter of Vanity Fair, Christine Everhart. "Oh, no, not her again." "Your ex?" "One of them. She's a reporter from Vanity Fair." "Ah, that one. Pepper gave me a warning about her." The blonde approached us, already taking out pen and paper. "Oh, why did I have to leave the car on the other side of the parking lot?" "Because you thought there would be no place in the front." And here she was. "Tony, hello, long time no see. Who is this? Your new girlfriend?" I hid behind the bag I held. "She's one of the Avengers, that's all you need to know and bye." That was Tony's polite way of sending someone to hell. Christine froze but recovered quickly as we departed towards the car. "Wait! When can we do an interview? Our readers would also be interested in the Avengers, their lives and so on. Is tomorrow at noon ok?" "Of course, I'll be in Monaco tomorrow." With that he got in the car, started the engine and we drove away as fast as we could. Once we were far enough I asked: "Monaco? Really?" "The best thing I could come up with so fast. Knowing her she'll probably be waiting there tomorrow. Or call to ask which hotel." "You are unbelievable." "And yet you're still with me…" "My life would be nothing but boring without you." "I'll take it as a compliment." "If you say so." "Hey, what's that supposed to mean…"

When we came back, the remaining Avengers were in the living room. "Where have you guys been?" Rhodey asked. "Ah, just shopping at the mall." 


	27. Contrasts

_**Hey guys, sorry about not updating for such a long time, but I had many things going on in my life. First my grandpa died of cancer, then my beloved guinea pig Emily (yes, the main character of this story is named after my pet) passed away because she had a tumor and last week my friend/ former colleague committed suicide, so that's why. Let's say those were the worst three weeks I ever had. No one died this week so I hope it stays that way for a damn long time. I have to thank my friends for lifting my mood, I found that everything is a lot better when you have people around that actually like you the way you are, even coping with situations like this…  
Ok, enough talking. Enjoy this chapter. Also, it will be divided into more subchapters or something like that.**_

Chapter 27- Contrasts

It was Saturday evening and we were sitting on the big red couch in the living room. The TV was on, but nobody was actually watching it. Apparently, our shopping trip didn't come without consequences. _"Stark's secret daughter", "The heir of Stark Industries finally revealed!", "Daughter or 'new assistant'? Who is the young woman? Where is Pepper Potts?"_ were just some of the titles of magazines and tabloids we were currently laughing over. "According to this one, you had an affair about 17 years ago. Her mother died and left the girl in your custody. And of course, you had no idea she existed and are apparently waiting for DNA tests." said Rhodey reading one of the articles. Ok, to make it clear, we made a competition in who finds the either weirdest or dumbest or craziest one of the stories. "Listen to this one. Apparently, our Emily is the daughter of Tony and Pepper. They had a one night stand about 16 years ago and Pepper gave her up for adoption and never told Tony. They say it was the reason you broke up, he somehow found her picture and confronted Pepper. The girl met you at the MIT. They claim to have proof, her birth certificate." "Wow, point for Bruce, that one's crazy. Do I really look 15? I thought I looked older." "Well, you did look younger when we met, but no. I'd say you're about 20 if I met you." I age, just a lot slower than most people. "So, did the two of you already set a date?" asked Rhodey. "Yeah, you never say anything." agreed Bruce. Vision was still absorbed into magazines. Tony scratched the back of his head. "Not exactly, but I have one in mind." I raised both eyebrows. Tony got it; it means 'go on, I'm interested what you came up with'. "Next year, April 3rd. What do you think?" "Tony, I think it's a perfect date." A wedding on our actual anniversary, perfect and cliché, but I don't care. Vision finally spoke up; it's damn hard to get him to just chat.  
"Isn't it traditional to have weddings on weekends, rather than the beginning of the week? April 3rd is a Monday next year; did you look that up Mr. Stark?" Rhodey and Bruce nodded, but Tony couldn't care less.  
"I did, Viz and call me Tony. I don't care about it being a Monday. The date is special for Emily and me."  
"Why?" "Yeah, why? What have you two been keeping from me all those years?"

"Just tell them, Tony, they're our friends and they'll find out eventually. I'm actually surprised no one found out about it yet, not even S.H.I.E.L.D." I said leaning against the couch.  
"Okay, April 3rd 1991 is our actual wedding date. That's why it is so special." A high-five with Tony later the rest of the Avengers were still staring at us totally shocked. Rhodey was the first to recover: "What? Wedding date, as in she's your wife? What, how, why…?" Bruce slapped his forehead. "Now, that's even crazier than the story we read. So you still married or have gotten a divorce?" "Nope, we're still married." "So, Pepper? Did she know?" "No, she did not. We could have gotten divorced anytime without her knowing."  
Few minutes later Bruce was pacing back and forth in front of the TV. "Ok, so 1991 you got married, basically to protect Tony from doing something stupid. But you were already in love back then, right?" We nodded; Rhodey was still shooting daggers at us for not telling him, even though he was one of the witnesses. He was really drunk that night. "Why didn't you tell me?" "Actually, you were our witness. But you were so drunk that night I'm not surprised you don't remember a thing." "So, April 3rd? 25 years if I count correctly." Yes, that is true.

 _ **Forever we'll remember you**_

The next day we headed north. I picked up my newest toy, the Phoenix jet, from GNC. It's the new one and for the next year it'll be only mine, because we have to make sure it's working perfect. Basically, I'm GNC's test pilot, but no worries that thing is safe, just the new technology needs testing, lots of it, which is why I have it for a year.  
"Can we get one like that for the Avengers?" was Tony's first question when I landed. "I'll think about it, but it's still in test phase. Don't give me those looks, I assure you it's safe. We're going to pick Logan up." The landing at the X-mansion was smooth, but it still needed fine-tuning. Another thing to write down. Stealth tech seems to work, since no one noticed a big white jet sitting in the front yard. It should change color to black at night, I'm interested to see if it's gonna work.  
I jumped out and knocked the door. Marie opened: "Hey, long time no see. How have you been?" "Just fine, and you?" "You know, the usual. What brings you here?" "Actually, I came to pick Logan up; he was supposed to go with us to Canada." Ok, we're not exactly going to Canada, but it's close. "Ok, I'll get him. Logan, Emily's here!" Logan came down soon. "Ready to go?" "Yeah, how are we going? I don't see a car or anything, I mean we could hijack the Blackbird…" "No need to, I brought a ride." And Phoenix became visible. "New toy?" "Yep. I love it already."

15 minutes of flight later we landed on the grounds of my old farmhouse. Just like every year, there was snow covering every inch of it. Tony started a snowball fight with the rest of the Avengers. Logan and I went to the old oak. A simple stone was placed next to it, the name _Alexander James Howlett_ written on the polished part of the rock. Today wasn't his birthday, but I wanted to go here before Christmas and this was probably the last chance to do so in peace, since the Expo opening is close and it will only get more chaotic from now on. I could feel Tony watching from the distance while Logan kneeled down to take a closer look.  
Oh, Alex, I always wondered what you'd be like, too bad you never had the chance to show the world who you were meant to be. As tears started to fall from my eyes, I felt someone take my hand. It was Tony, since Logan was still kneeling beside the stone, letting a few tears fall.

Tony's POV

Emily and this Logan guy are standing under the tree. Just standing and staring on the grave of their son. We come here every year, Emily and I, only until now it was always just the two of us. I get it, he was the boy's father, but where was he when she needed him, when they needed him. I know she knows I'm watching them, she always does. The guys don't even know the true reason we're here, they think it's just to pick something up and relax a bit.  
Walking up to Emily and Logan, I can't help but think about the pain she must be going through. They say no mother forgets their child, I doubt this would make an exception. I took her hand to let her know she's not alone. Logan's still kneeling beside the stone, maybe even shedding a tear.  
When we left the grave my other friends were waiting in the jet. The flight back was silent. We dropped Logan off at the mansion, telling him to come around for training if he wants to. I can't say I like him, but I'm not saying I don't like him either. And no, I'm not jealous of him (not that I'd admit if I was).  
Tomorrow is my parents' anniversary, we're going to Arlington and on Sunday we'll throw a small party for Bruce. Small meaning us, the Avengers, and the whole stuff of SHIELD. Bruce still doesn't suspect a thing. Emily is supposed to drag him somewhere and keep him occupied for a few hours so we can prepare for the party. It will be fun.

The next day we drove to Washington, to the Arlington national cemetery, where my parents were buried. My parents, who didn't die in a car accident like I was told, instead were killed by Capsicle's friend, Bucky. And Cap knew, but instead of telling me about it, he chose to protect the murderer. This is why we are now using Caps shield as Hulks toy. Maybe they'd still be here. Mom would freak out about Iron Man and dad, maybe he'd finally show some appreciation about my work or the fact that I live. I remember the many many people attending the funeral. Today this place was empty. Beside Emily, Bruce, Rhodey, Vision, Fury and me, there was no one here. Emily stood next to me, just like at the funeral. We stood there for a few more minutes before going home, it was freezing cold.

 _ **Happy Birthday!**_

So, today is Bruce's birthday. It's 6AM on Sunday and Emily and I are the only ones up: "You're sure you manage to keep him busy for at least 6 hours?" "Well, I can keep you busy. I think I'll manage Bruce." "Hey, what do you mean by that?" "I mean that it's very hard to keep your attention on something so you don't get bored and that Bruce is going to be easier." "Oh, I'm hurt. You are mean." "I learned from the best, didn't I?" That woman, so sweet and evil at the same time. We were sitting on the couch in the living room drinking hot chocolate.  
"I was thinking, we're engaged, so how about we move all your stuff to my room, because it's kind of weird that we sleep in separate rooms. Don't you think, Emi?" "Sure, it's just that we've been so busy for the past weeks that we had no time to even think about this. Even the guys caught us off guard when they asked about the wedding date. It's like… I don't know, it just feels weird." "Yeah, it does. Maybe it's because, what I mean is we were just friends, buddies for such a long time and…" "And neither one wants to destroy what we have, but still wants it to be something more? So we put off talking about it. Maybe we rushed it." "We definitely did. I don't want to lose what we have now. So now what?" "Now, we could start with the party for Bruce." "I didn't mean that." And she knows that. She's so cute when she smiles. "I meant about us." "I know, Tony. Maybe we should just start with moving my things to your room and then go on and see what happens." "We won't go public with it, at least for a while, so we have enough time to get used to it ourselves. Maybe later. But I know one thing for sure; I never want to lose you again." I leaned in and kissed her, she kissed back. My forehead leaned against hers, she whispered: "You know, we should have moments like this more often." "We should, we definitely should."

Few hours passed and Emily shipped Bruce off to GNC, something about biology and then wanted to take him shopping for groceries etc. That gave us enough time to prepare the living room. Once they returned, with Bruce complaining and saying something about never going shopping with her again we shouted "Happy Birthday!"

"Wow! You did this all for me? Thanks, guys." Bruce was surprised, in a good way. Emily was giggling in the back and the crowd cheered. Yeah, the Avengers were a big family to all of us. "Let us all toast to Bruce, who is a genius, the Hulk, a great friend and science bro who we are delighted to have here with us. To Bruce! May we share the next years here together as a family." Everyone raised their glasses to the great scientist.  
Few hours and a birthday cake later Bruce was unpacking his presents. "Really, a Hulk statue? That could only have been Tony's idea. Thank you for the telescope Emily, how did you know?" "It's actually from both of us, and I figured since you are into astrophysics, you'd like to watch stars. Actually there's a bigger on the way, they just couldn't make it in time, so it'll arrive later. I'm glad you like it. And Tony, I told you so." "Hey, I wanted to get him a Hulk rug, too, but no, you forbid it."

The party was a big success. Everyone had fun and was enjoying themselves. What a great night…

 _ **Next chapter coming soon and it's Christmas with the Avengers…**_


	28. An Avengers Christmas

**Christmas is coming! And our gang is preparing to celebrate it.  
I didn't have much time to write and I kind of had a writer's block so the chapter's a bit shorter. Enjoy and stay tuned for the next chapters **_**The Grand Opening**_ **and** _ **New Year's with the Avengers.**_ **  
Of course I would like to thank those people who are still reading this. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! It means a lot to me.**

Chapter 28- An Avengers Christmas

 **The Christmas tree**

Tony's POV

"Tony, I really think Emily's gonna get our asses for this."  
"Nah, she won't, she loves Christmas and hates it at the same time, but she still loves it… Bruce, say something!"  
"I'm with Rhodey here, Tony. That tree is just too big and just imagine the needles that are going to fall from it, Emily's gonna flip. But if you want it, then take it, but it's on you."  
"Yeah, yeah, I think she'll like it." "I don't think so. Ms. Emily is not into materialistic things, I think she'd appreciate a smaller tree." "You too, Vision? Ah, come on." They didn't seem to share my idea. "Alright, you won, we pick a smaller one." "Thank god." the three said with a sigh of relief. What do they have against a big tree?

"I'm not going under 10 feet." "Ok, this one is about 10, can we please take it and go, it's freezing out here." Rhodey was right, it was really cold. Next year I'll just order the tree in advance. "I'll go pay and you load that thing on the car." "Thank god…"  
Once the tree was secured on the roof we headed back home from the Christmas tree farm.

Emily's POV

I'm starting to worry; it's been two hours since the boys left to get the tree. And we have yet to decide about the ornaments, which are at GNC because I didn't know how big the tree would be and which color to pick so that everyone is happy. At least the cookies are finally done. Now all I have to do is finish cleaning up this mess and prepare the guest rooms for Laura and the kids.  
About the time I finished I heard the car coming up the road. That would be the boys, the Bartons I am supposed to pick up later and Peter and his Aunt are coming tomorrow. I ran down the stairs to meet them in the garage. "Hey, what took you so long?" "Mr. Big-tree here is to blame." "Why is that?" "Yeah, why me?" Rhodey and Bruce threw a glare at Tony. "Remind us then. Who was so stubborn that he wouldn't go away without the biggest tree they got there?" Yep, sounds lot like Tony. I looked at the tree. "It does seem to have the ideal size to me. What was the problem?" "Well this wasn't the one he picked; his was three times this size. We argued with him for so long he actually gave up and gave in on this one." "Good job guys, I don't know where we'd put a bigger one anyway. And all those dry needles underneath, imagine it, they'd be all over the house." "See, we told you Tony." "Yeah whatever, let's get this thing upstairs."

The tree was all set up in the living room, the colors picked so I headed to GNC to pick up the ornaments and the jet. "Do not eat up all the cookies boys…"

Just like every year the company is closed. Most teams are on stand down, those who don't have plans on Christmas can volunteer to be on watch. This year it'll be the Avengers. The ornaments I was talking about earlier, they are in the storage room. Each year GNC is decorated for Christmas in different colors. This year it's purple and pink? I have no idea who picked this. The boys let Tony choose the colors. So you can probably guess I was loading up red and gold decorations. The next stop was my house; I loaded the presents I hid there into the car and noticed I had company. It was Mia, my pet wolf. How come I have a wolf? Well, there was this time about 4 years ago when Tony and I spent our Christmas in our cabin in Minnesota. I went in advance to prepare everything while Tony had another party to attend before coming up there into the Wi-Fi less place. Anyway, I was chopping the wood outside when I heard shooting. I dropped the wood and followed the noise. When I came to the crime scene, a body, no two bodies, headless bodies of wolves were lying there in a pool of blood. Who can do such a thing? There was something else I noticed; the female wolf had milk, so she obviously had pups not so long ago. They weren't here, so whoever did this took them, too. A faint whine from behind the bush broke my trance. It was a baby wolf, shaking and crying. Calling the rangers, I tried to calm the little one down. By the time they arrived I had the shaking puppy in my arms. After a long talk with the rangers, they let me keep her as I had experience with wolves (we have a pack of wolves living in the forest on GNC, legally, but they were there before us) and her parents were killed. So to cut the long story short, after going over some paperwork Mia, as I named the little one, was mine. A vet told me she was about two weeks old at the time, but due to some trauma she suffered she'd never have puppies. I raised her ever since and I'm grateful the pack here accepted her. She spends most of her time with them, but still comes around if she wants to cuddle.  
"So what little miss, do you want to come with me?" A happy gesture was the answer I needed. I placed her food bowls, favorite blanket, some toys and the dog bed in the car. Mia jumped on the front seat, so I buckled her up.

The tree was already standing in the corner when I returned with music blasting through the entire house. Tony turned it down a bit when he saw me. "So boys, ready for decorating?" "Yeah, is that a wolf?" Bruce asked as Mia peeked from behind my legs. She's always shy. "Yes, boys, meet Mia, she's my buddy and she'll be spending Christmas with us." Soon the tree was covered in red and gold deco. The only thing missing was the star on the top. "I have an idea! Wait for me and don't put the star up." Tony exclaimed and ran off. Shortly afterwards he came back with a camera. "Ok, Bruce turn into Hulk and then lift Emily so she can put the star on top. It's going to make awesome pictures for our gallery." We did as we got told. The pictures really turned out to be cool, as did the other ones where we all posed in front of the tree. One was just us, like normal people, the other was all suited up.  
Now this is gonna make a nice holiday greeting.

 **The big Family gathering**

The boys promised Elsa to Lila, so I am standing in a blue dress in the middle of the living room. And I have yet to make an ice castle. I am so gonna kick their collective ass for this later. Yeah, well, I might have an idea about revenge… But first, I have to make this castle before she's up.

It was a big success and Lila was overjoyed. The boys on the other hand, not so much. If the girl wanted Frozen for Christmas, she might as well get the whole package. Rhodey got to be Kristoff, Vision was Anna, Tony got Olaf and Hulk I somehow talked him into Marshmallow and painted him all white. He seemed to be most comfortable with it out of everyone else. Laura almost fell from the couch laughing when the grumpy looking boys walked into the living room. Pictures were taken once again and placed into the Gallery. Hopefully they learned their lesson and will never do something like this ever again.  
The day was wonderful. After lunch we had a big snowball fight, build a slide from the roof down, built snowmen and played with the kids in the ice castle until dark. In the evening we watched movies on TV with the flickering lights of the Christmas tree in the background. Mia was spread under the tree. Pepper and Happy apologized themselves and stayed in the warmer California, Fury and Hill on the other hand joined us for the celebrations. Logan stopped by, too. He was actually running away from the too loud mansion, so we talked him into staying for dinner. 

Tony's POV

After dinner I sat down by the piano. Emily and Laura were cleaning dishes, the kids were playing with their toys and the men were chatting. Later we all sang Christmas carols and it was, well, listenable. Most of the singers were completely off tune. Logan stayed until the next day. Or better said he wasn't allowed to leave since a heavy snowstorm began. I have to admit he's a funny guy, very much like me and that means Emily has a horrible taste in men to be honest.  
Anyway, it was one great Christmas this year. And there's so much more I'd like to tell you. There was this one time that…


	29. The Grand Opening

Chapter 29- The Grand Opening

"Nervous?" Here we go again. "Yes, for the one hundred times in the last hour I am nervous and thank you for reminding me about it and making me even more nervous. And if I hadn't been nervous I'd be now, because you constantly ask about it, Tony." "You know, you're cute when you get pissed." I roll my eyes. Today, we are opening the Expo. It's December 29th, so it's just between Christmas and New Years. As of the last few days, Tony has a new hobby. He's always somewhere behind my back asking if I'm nervous, which looked relatively harmless the first 10 minutes. Ever since it's just driving me nuts. And he loves it.  
Flushing Meadows is mostly empty now; exception of people from both SI and GNC making sure everything is where it's supposed to be, or the do last minute touch up of exhibitions in different pavilions. Then there's the team in the main pavilion preparing the stage and the hall, entrance, the catering is supposed to arrive at 12 which is in less than two hours and the security, well it's provided by the all the WP's and police and some SHIELD agents, so it's the least to worry about, the flowers should have been here like an hour ago… I'm going to go totally crazy and this is only the beginning.

"Hey, chill." Tony grabs my shoulders, "You know I'm starting to get what Pep had to go through while planning my first Stark Expo. She did most of it, now that I think about it." I turn to him. "Wow, took you long enough." "I know, but … Anyway, what is next on the to-do list? I kind of feel bad that you did most of the work and I left it mostly on Pepper when she still worked for me and then threw it all on you, and hid in my workshop. So what can I help you with right now?" "Well, first of all, you did help a lot and ever since Pep quit. Second for all I remember we did all the plans together since the idea came up in your bright head. And since you offered, could you call this flower service, they should have been here an hour ago and I for one now the store is like 5 minutes walking distance from here. I'll go and check the stage." "Will do, Sweetie."  
I entered the giant main pavilion. The big empty space will fill with hundreds of people this evening, at least 20 news teams are supposed to come and stream the spectacle live all over the world, reporters from various radios and newspapers, photographers (ours and theirs), oh, and of course magazines like Vanity fair (aka Ms. Everhart)… I walked up to the big stage. The size is really overwhelming. Chairs are being placed in the room and lights being tested as I walk on the stage. From here this place looks even bigger. God, what if I screw this up. A very familiar feeling comes around. Anxiety or fear. The reason I never go to big public events, or never create them for that matter. I hate being in the spotlight, being the center of attention, even for a brief moment. A silhouette appeared in the doorway.

Tony's POV

When I finished shouting at the flower company which promised to arrive within the next 5 minutes I went to find Em. Something stopped me in my tracks. She looked so small and fragile there on this big stage. Small and lost. Female of mine, the strongest creature I know, is scared to death to go on stage and speak in front of people. I could try and get her a bit drunk so she'd loosen up a little, but I don't think it would have an effect. But, I do have one good idea… a little something I'll do once we're alone.  
The flower guys finally arrived along with the catering. Once everything, including the red carpet and all the deco with all its details, Emily finally went to change. We drove to the Avengers HQ, since it was closer than GNC.  
It didn't take long for us, males (and android) to get suited up, like get into tuxes or suits, but tuxed up sounded weird. The female, per usual takes more time than us. But it was a view worth waiting for. We still had two hours before guests started arriving, anyway.  
When she walked into the living room, I could swear it lit up. Her long wavy hair was freely falling over her shoulders, the red lips contrasting with her pale skin in harmony with those big turquoise eyes of hers. She was wearing an icy blue dress with silver snowflakes on its top, going all the way down to the floor with tiny white sparkling snowflakes all over it. I was speechless. "Do I look okay?" "You look great, Emily." Bruce said. "Yeah, if you need proof, look at Tony. Tony, you're drooling all over the floor." said Rhodey pinching my arm. Damn it. I quickly shut my mouth. Even Vision was laughing. "So, my lady, shall we go?" I asked extending my arm. She took it and all of us entered the limousine that was waiting outside. On our way we picked Fury, Hill and Coulson up from the HQ.

The time we arrived, everything was set up already. I dragged Emily to the main stage. "Do you want to rehearse or what?" I shot her a 'Seriously?' look. "No, I want you to relax. Vision, turn it on!" Emily looked a bit confused. Music started playing, ACDC's Highway to hell, and I offered her my hand. "Your highness, will you grate me this dance?" I said with a British accent. "You, my dear are impossible." "Isn't that the reason you love me?" Finally she let out a laugh, mission successful. Now who's the best in the world? Yeah, me!

Third person's POV

"Stark's changed a lot over the past months." said Fury, not bothering to express whether it was a good or a bad thing. "Nah, not really." added Rhodey. Bruce, Vision, Hill, Coulson and Fury stopped watching the couple on the stage, which was now, still standing close together, going over the evening's schedule, adjusting lights, sound and some last details. "What do you mean? For all I know, he never acted responsible, ok, he had his moments, he's still arrogant as hell, egocentric, textbook narcissist, maybe still the playboy, but something about him is just different. He seems just, I don't know, happier. Every single time she walks into the room, his face just lights up. And they know each since when, Potts' wedding?" Hill looked at him grinning: "Stark's head over heels in love with her. But you said he hadn't changed, what did you mean? You know something more?" "He was always like this around her. Well, first of all Emily and Tony have known each other for about 30 years. They met, we met at the MIT. It's a pretty story with a stupid twist. If you ask about it, they'll tell you the details. By the way, GNC has been SI's partner company for about two decades, anyway so they'd have to know each other." "So I take it they're a couple now. Not just business partners or friends." "Much more, they're engaged. I take it they haven't told you yet." "What?!" At this point, Tony and Emily, who'd been listening to the whole conversation unnoticed, couldn't contain their laughter anymore. "Yeah, we've been planning to tell you once this craziness was over, but you know what the funniest part is? You, a superspy, thought we wouldn't know each other when we obviously were in business for years. Even though I'm sure you did a background check on her." said Tony, very pleased with himself.  
Fury wasn't amused at all. "You know what, Stark…" At this point, Emily cut in: "Guys, it's not the time. The guests are to arrive soon. And I got the message the press is already bugging the security in front of the pavilion." Tony was grinning at his victory over Fury.  
An hour later of avoiding the press at all costs Emily and Tony were preparing to enter the stage. A voice came through the speakers: "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the CEOs of GlobalNet Corporation and Stark Industries, Emily and Tony." Tony looked at Emily and squeezed her hand one last time before letting go. "Let's get this party started." And together arm in arm they walked onstage.

Tony spoke first: "Hello everyone! Since you all know, how the last Expo turned out to be, especially it's beginning, this time I decided to get a partner in crime. That's her, the pretty girl here next to me. You'll like her, no worries." At this point all Emily wanted was to disappear. But Tony kept on talking: "Anyway, as you all know, it's been a busy year. The Sokovia Accords came through and well to the Avengers or a part of them it turned out to be a big problem. I have no idea where they are right now but I want to use this situation and tell the world, we are still here. And we have a Hulk, so I'd recommend not messing with people of this country and anywhere else in the world. Em, your turn." "Thank you, Tony. You know, when you came to me with the idea of a big Expo, I was surprised, I didn't expect an offer like that, I'd like to say thank you for this opportunity and I'm honored to be here today. But back to the reason we're here. The expo will be here for the entire year, and this time we decided it won't be only for big companies, but also for students and their ideas. It's here to make a change. To make sure we leave something behind for the next generations, a better and safer world. So on behalf of GlobalNet," "And Stark Industries as well," "We'd like to welcome you to the opening night of the GNC&SI Expo!" Fireworks started exploding in the sky as Tony and Emily were leaving the stage.

Few pictures and a dinner later Emily, Tony, the Avengers, Fury, Hill and Coulson were enjoying the reception. While most of the people in the room were caught up in dancing and chatting, Tony used the time to steal Emily just for himself: "Come on." He grabbed her and pulled her towards the balcony into a corner far from the window to make sure no one would see them. After inspecting the surrounding for the last time he took her face and kissed her. "Wow, now that was unexpected. But great." "I've waited for this all day. Are you cold?" "No, I'm fine. Beside, how could cold bother me?" "Good one. You did well onstage too, by the way." "Thank you. You were great just like you always are. So except kissing, why are we here?" "No real reason. I guess I just wanted to steal you for myself. You know, talk a bit with none of those men hovering around and staring at you." Emily smirked. "If I didn't know better I'd say you're jealous." "What? Me, jealous? Never!" "Hmm, than you don't mind if I dance with one of those guys?" "Why would you do that?" "Relax, I'm just teasing. But you should have seen your face. Priceless." "We should go inside, otherwise they find out we're gone." "Yeah, we should." As they started to make their way back inside, Emily stopped: "Tony, maybe it'd be better if you keep your hands away from my ass for the rest of the evening." "Oh, come on…"


	30. Happy New Year!

Chapter 30- Happy New Year!

"All done up here!" "Good, the rest of our gang should be here soon." Emily said, setting the last bowl of snacks on the counter. Tony and Rhodey were on the roof, setting up fireworks and Bruce, Vision, Coulson and Fury were outside having a snowball fight with the kids. Of course, Fury wasn't fooling around, he called it training future recruits. Laura didn't like the idea very much.  
An hour later, everyone was gathered in the main room and the party was starting. Aunt May was chatting with Laura about kids. Pepper and Maria were trying to get the latest gossip out of Emily and the men were giving Peter tips about girls.  
The men then decided to join their female friends. "Last year's been really crazy, hasn't it?" said Tony, sipping on his drink. "Yeah, you're right, pal. I'm kind of glad it's over." "Crazy's not over, Rhodey. We're only changing a number in the date for the next 365 days, boys." Emily sighed, sinking into the pillow bag on the floor. Tony didn't take long to join. "Didn't the two of you fall asleep on that thing under the tree like two days ago?" "Yeah, we couldn't find them all morning and once we searched the entire building, the hangars, the old HQ and called to GNC and SI, but no one picked up since it was Saturday, we found them cuddled up under the tree. Friday, pull up the picture on the screen." "What picture?" Tony's question was quickly answered. The picture showed them both asleep on the pillow, Emily's head resting on Tony's shoulder, while his was buried in her hair as if he was kissing her, his arms wrapped around her body."Oh, I remember that night. She was so nervous about the gala, that she just tossed around and then gave up and went downstairs. So, since I was also awake, I followed her. And well, we ended up like that." Everyone was laughing. Then Pepper said: "So, you two are together I suppose." "Yep, even better, we're getting married." replied Tony, smirking. "Oh, well, then congratulations. I can certainly say I didn't expect that." "Well, if you can move on, so can I. But it took me longer, not just three months." Everyone was looking back and forth between Tony and Pepper, having seen it coming a long time. There were unresolved problems between the two of them. "Maybe if you hadn't been such an egocentric moron, we wouldn't have broken up in the first place." "I am so so sorry, I was just trying to save the world, protect people, including you." "Yeah, but you became addicted to it and after New York you just went totally crazy." "I did destroy all of my suits for you." "And then you built new ones, again and again and again. You never stopped." Good thing the kids were playing upstairs. "I gave you everything, all I wanted was to keep you safe, but you just didn't understand a thing!" Emily, who was covering her ears during most of the shouting, resigned on the sound-lowering telekinetic bubble. Mia rather went outside for a run. "It's not like we could have had a future like this. You wouldn't have changed anyway!" "How can you know that? You were the one who wanted to break up! I asked you to marry me, you said no!"

Emily slipped away (teleported) to the kitchen, joining Vision at the counter. Everyone else was motionlessly (they were afraid to even try to move) sitting on the sofas looking at Tony and Pepper, who were still standing in front of the TV, staring at each other really, really angry. If looks could kill, there would be less of two people in the room. "Any idea how we could stop this from becoming even worse, Vision?" "Maybe we could fake a mission." "I said stop, not delay. I'm not saying it's a bad idea; we'll keep it as a backup plan. Right now, we have to come up with something else." "Maybe we could show them how good they were together. Pull out pictures, videos, something." "Keep going. This might actually work." "Well you have to calm them down first." "Like throw myself between them?" "No, I meant like talk to them." "I'll try, but to be entirely honest, I can't help but feel like I am the reason for this mess in the first place." "How?" "I don't know, maybe if we, you know, had gotten separated, they'd still be together." "She didn't know about that, did she?" "Given no one has pulled it out yet, I don't think so." "Then I doubt it was the reason." "Thanks, Viz. Why do you think I should talk to them? You would be better." "Because you have the talent to calm people down and only use your words for it or your eyes. Just out of curiosity, this power is not a mutation, is it?" "No, I could always do this, ever since I was a little girl. It's kind of like manipulating emotions; I only look into their eyes and somehow manage to calm them." "Well, then I can't think of anyone better. And honestly, I am not interested in trying to get killed. You can not die." "You can't either. Alright, let's see if your plan works. I'll get their attention and you pull up as many pics and videos as you can." "We'll try, but you do know what they say." "What?" "Friendship can grow into love, but love can't grow back into friendship." "Did you just Google that?" The android nodded and gave Friday instruction. "Well, I could give you a living example of the opposite. Never entirely trust what the internet says. Now, we should start before they kill each other."

Meanwhile in the living room, Happy was trying to calm his wife down, not really succeeding. Emily took a deep breath and a few steps toward the arguers. "Guys, even though this is a rather unusual way of entertainment at a party, I really think you should stop before you both say something you'll regret." Two pairs of eyes turned to the brown-haired girl. Thankfully for her, Vision chose the moment to do his part. The TV screen came alive with pictures of Tony and Pepper at different occasions. Many of them were from before they became a couple. JARVIS, Tony's AI, made most of them through security cameras. The killer looks turned to the TV. Peppers face softened. Emily slowly returned to Vision. Tony turned to the duo: "Why are you showing us these?" "Because you two are killing the mood here, we only wanted you to see that there were good time in that relationship of yours and maybe you could try and at least get along. Plus my ears hurt so stop shouting." "Sorry about that." Tony said with an apologetic smile. Pepper resigned on shouting.  
Once everyone was calmed down Pepper decided to relieve her curiosity. "I am sure it doesn't matter right now, but there was something I wanted to ask you a long time ago." "What is it Pep?" "All those years I worked for you I always wondered why the only meeting you didn't mind going to was with GlobalNet. You always went there alone. It was only after I became CEO that you let me go on the meeting with you. What was so special about that one business partner from the beginning? Then I met her and ever since I couldn't get rid of the feeling that there was something going on between the two of you. Now that I see you together, I can't help but think I was right. So was our relationship just a big lie, Tony?" "No, it wasn't for me. But I can't speak for you, can I? Besides the fact that Em and I are best friends, there was nothing going on, not until when was it again, this September or October?" He looked at Emily for clues. "Disneyworld. You took me out on a date, we went dancing." "And then on a long walk by that lake or whatever it was." "It was indeed a nice evening." The couple smiled, remembering the time they spent together. "Ok, so you two weren't a couple nor did you sleep together." "Nope." "Alright, I just needed to clarify this." said Pepper. "They are right, Pep. We should try to get along. So, how about we burry the battle axe, at least for today. I lost many friends this year and I'm not in the mood of loosing another. What do you think?" Tony extended his hand. Pepper took it. "You are right, but one more thing. Who are you and what did you do with Tony Stark? The one I knew was different." "He wasn't that different. I'm glad you found someone who makes you happy. Well he can't do else, his name is Happy after all." Laughter erupted in the room.

Everyone finally relaxed so Laura asked. "Emily, you never told us how he proposed." The Avengers were also curious and Pepper joined in. "Yeah, come on, tell us." "Well, I was working the entire week, had many things going on so I was staying at my apartment." "She's a workaholic. So I went to check on her and found her asleep on her desk over some files. This couldn't go on like that, so I came up with a plan and the rest of the company gladly supported it. We spent the weekend here and then drove off to Canada…" "… where we spent a few days at my cabin. He made me guess where we were going. There was snow and we had big trouble to get up there."  
"It was freezing cold. We had a few snowball fights." "You mean the ones that started with you throwing me into a big pile of snow and continued with me dumping that pile at you?" "Yeah, those I had in mind. We lasted there for 4 days I think. The next stop of the trip was the Niagara Falls. We stayed in the best hotel there is, had dinner in this nice little restaurant…" "…and ended up in a bar. But I'm sure you had that planed ahead as well." Tony smirked. "I sure did, but you didn't suspect a thing the entire evening." "No, I was so caught up in trying to figure out why on earth you were so nervous." "Well, you did ask about it in the end…"

 _/Flashback/_

 _The couple exited the bar. "Something wrong?" Emily asked, holding onto Tony. "No, not at all. Why?" "Ever since we left the bar you act strange. If something bothers you, we can talk about it." "Yeah, right, it's nothing really, I was just thinking." "Penny for your thoughts?" He smiled. They walked to the observation deck and leaned on the railing. "So what were you thinking about that made you go silent for so long?" Em asked sleepily. He smiled shyly, took a deep breath and said: "I was wondering if, maybe, you would become my wife someday, like for real." Now I was wide awake. "Are you proposing?" "Yes. I promise I won't hurt you ever again, if I do feel free to kill me. The truth is I can't imagine my life without you, Emily. Whether things were good or bad, or if I made a crazy decision, you were always supportive and helped me to keep it together, you always had my back. I can't bear to lose you, so what is your answer?" Emilianne just stood there, tears welling up in her eyes. "Yes, the answer is yes." "Thank you." "For what?" "For being probably the craziest person in the world." Tony pulled her into a hug._

 _/end of flashback/_

"I remember, we were here, placing bets on whether they get together on the trip or not. Not in our wildest dreams would we have thought he would propose." Said Rhodey. The women looked at each other and Maria said: "Show us the ring finally." Emily did as she was told. "Wow, Stark, it's hard to believe you picked it." "I didn't." "God, Tony you are incorrigible. See, this is why I said no." "Chill, ladies and I did choose the ring I gave to you Pepper, I just ordered it online. But this one is special and I didn't choose it in a store, because this was my mother's ring. She gave it to me on my 21st birthday, told me to give it to Emily, when the time was right." "Wait, you knew his parents?" Emily who meanwhile wandered to the kitchen leaned on the counter. "I did. His mom was sweet. Dad was a genius, but only at tech. He was a good guy, but he wasn't around much." "Why did your mom want Emily to have the ring?" "She liked her as if she was her own. Mom got it from her mother; she got it from hers and so on. Since I wasn't a girl, nor did I have a sister and Emily was my best female friend and mom really loved her, she decided that it would be like that. So I just fulfilled her wish."  
"That was a nice story. It looks like no worlds end is planned for today. You got something, boss?" Bruce asked Emily, who was looking at her phone. "Nope, doesn't look like it. Officer Paul says everything is under control, but it's not midnight yet, so they might need our help later if something happens on Time square." "Good to know. By the way, did the UN approve our choice for a leader?" "Yeah, they don't mind who you pick as long as it's ok with me, but you should have seen Ross face when I told him that if he wants to deal directly with the Avengers he'll have to go through Tony. It topped the 'You have Hulk?!' face. He stormed out of the room." "What did he say on Hulk?" "Basically he wanted to lock you up and something like that. He had to give it up, since you and Hulk are under my protection." "Good. So, Peter, how's school going?"  
"Well, you know Dr. Banner…" "Peter, Bruce is just fine." "Ok, Bruce. It's fine. It's just boring sometimes." "And how did the article end up?" "The interview? Nobody believed it at first; we'll see what they say after winter break." "They will believe now." Tony said proudly.  
"Don't worry about it Peter, no one except the people in business ever met me and I basically avoided public as much as I could, but trust me, they'll believe you now. And if they don't give me a call and I'll stop by sometime." said Emily winking. "Thanks, Emily. You are great." "No problem. At least you aren't so nervous like when we first met." "I almost freaked out. Oh, that was embarrassing." "Nah, it wasn't. You should have seen me before the Expo opening." "She didn't sleep for two nights before." "Thank you, Tony, for sharing the information we couldn't have lived without. Now, let's get this party started. Friday, turn the music on!" The spirits in the room were lifted.

Thankfully, nothing the police couldn't handle happened when the clock announced midnight. Tony raised the glass. "Let the next year be better than the last one, may we all in good health meet here again; more is acceptable, less is not. May more love, laughter and less tears of sadness fill our lives. We shall remain friends until the doomsday comes around, hopefully not anytime soon. Here's to us and to new beginning. Happy new year!" Everyone wished each other a happy new year and Tony pulled Emily into a kiss she wasn't going to forget anytime soon…

 **I hope you enjoyed the story so far. Happy New Year to all my readers! May your lives be filled with joy, love and your tears come from laughter. Life shall write a beautiful chapter for all of you this year. Good luck!**


	31. Siberia and Wakanda

Chapter 31- Siberia and Wakanda

Emily's POV

"Damn it! We are so going to freeze here." "Your suit has a heater, what about us? And stop being a crybaby, Tony, it isn't helping!" I shouted finally getting him to shut up. We were on a mission in Siberia. The temperature was about -40°C. How we got here in the first place? Well…

… _16 hours earlier_

I was at the UN meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Today they'd be giving the final verdict in Black Widows case. For all of our sakes, and mostly Bruce's, I hope this turns out well. Mostly, it depends on T'Challa, the king of Wakanda. I've known this man for quite some time now, ever since his father introduced us about 5 years ago. He is kind, brave, reasonable, strong and wise. The perfect guy I think. Anyway, after the 'trial' or conference or whatever, we had some time to chat.

"Your Highness." I smiled shaking his hand.

"Emily, how many times did I tell you not to call me that?"  
"Far too many, I suppose, but I couldn't resist. So, how are you? What is up in Wakanda?"

"I'm as good as I can be. As for Wakanda, we have a new highway. And you? I heard you are an Avenger now."  
"Something like that, the new Avengers work under the IPA and I occasionally join them on missions. Well, they haven't been on their own yet, you know the policies, but I'm sure they'll manage. The only actual reason for me to be there was that they were understaffed. And I grew to like them; they liked me so I stayed. Oh, before you run off, I have something for you." I handed him a small envelope.  
"Wow, now I guess congratulations are in order. You mentioned you were friends, I didn't think it was that serious."  
"Well, it wasn't at first, but it is now."  
"You're getting married, I'm pretty sure it is serious. Send my congratulations to Stark as well."  
"I will, don't worry. Let me know if we can count on you, ok? Oh, and thanks for Natasha. I know what she did was probably wrong at the time, but…"  
"You are welcome. In hindsight I realized if she hadn't stopped me, we never would have gotten the true murderer of my father. He is now in prison in Wakanda. I have to go now, duty calls me back. You parked in the back as well, I suppose." Together we walked to the landing space, where our jets were.  
"Oh, can I ask you one more thing?" I asked after making sure we were alone.

"Sure, go ahead."  
"They aren't causing you much trouble, are they?"He took a while to realize who I was talking about.  
"Mostly not, but it is sometimes difficult to keep them out of trouble. Why?"  
"Laura asked me to make sure Clint was alright."  
"He misses them. Sometimes he would just walk out of the room and stare at the forest, thinking about them."  
"Well, she gave me some pictures and we added some more to them from our babysitting, could you give him those?" "Sure." "Ok, wait a second." I ran to the jet and quickly fished out the album.  
"Ok, here. Give it to him, when he goes out staring again. Thank you very much. If you ever need my help, feel free to call."  
"No problem, I really have to go now. I'll see you at the wedding."  
"I'm looking forward to it. Bye."

After saying farewell to the king of Wakanda, I myself boarded the jet and flew home. Now, all I have to do is find Black Widow so that Bruce would find happiness. Tony is meanwhile trying to hook up Rhodey with a Shield agent. Her name is Jennifer.

Third persons POV-Wakanda

Black Panther exited his Quinn jet. The sun was low, soon it would be night. He wondered whether the team already returned from England where they told him they'd be looking for some stones. The number of jets parked in the hangar gave him the answer.  
The team was sitting in the communal area looking like their trip hadn't been a success. "How did the summit go? What did you do about Tasha?" they asked right when he entered the room.  
"I granted her freedom. If she hadn't let you go, we would have never caught the true murderer of my father."  
"Were any of our former teammates there?" asked Steve cautiously.  
"No, they weren't. But according to my friend they are sending their greetings and demand for you to stay out of trouble until the last hearing."  
"They know where we are?" "Yes, they are aware of it, I suppose."  
"How did they found out?" "Their new leader is an old friend of mine. She just knew it and asked, so I told her the truth. You can't lie to that woman, trust me."  
"So, they'll come for us."  
"No, no one except General Ross really wants you arrested. Besides she is the only one that knows about it and I know this girl can keep secrets very good. She knows that even with all your flaws, this world will need us all united, when the time comes. Also, she thinks it would be good if, after we get your names cleared, you accepted the accords. With that I have to agree."  
"We'll think about it."  
"Good. How was your trip? Found what you were looking for?"  
"No, we haven't."  
"Why are you looking for some stones anyway?"  
"Because they could save this world from a bigger catastrophe. But we are more looking for their guardian. Thor should be here shortly with more information. Anyone seen Clint?"  
Outside on the balcony the lonely archer stood staring into the dark jungle. The Black Panther making his presence known caused him to jump up. "Whoa, don't sneak up on me like that; I almost got a heart attack."  
"I apologize for that. But I didn't sneak up. You were so lost in thoughts, you just didn't notice."  
"Yeah, you know, as much as it hurts to admit it, Stark was probably right in the end. I should have thought more about my family. I mean I don't even get to see my youngest sons first steps, words, hell, he won't even remember me by the time this is over. And the older ones, Cooper will have a damn bad role model for a future and my princess Lila will be a big girl."  
"My friend also gave me a package. It is meant for you. You should look at it."  
"Why would your friend send me something?" he asked looking up from the box, but T'Challa was long gone.  
Clint took the box into his room, sat down on the bed and opened it. Inside was a book and on its top was a folded letter, _For Clint's eyes only_ written on it. He unfolded it and read:

 _Dear Clint,_

 _You have probably no idea who or what I am. I can assure you I mean no harm to you and/or your family. We already met, once or twice. My name is Emily, your wife is a friend of mine and also she is my employee. Before I went to the summit, she gave me a few pictures of the kids for you to see how they grew up. I sat down with the guys (yes, I mean the current small Avengers team) and we added some more pictures from our babysitting adventures as well as Thanksgiving, Christmas and some others. Well, you'll see yourself. They miss you more every day and they send their love. By the way, we told the kids you are on a very, very important top secret mission, so they have no idea you are in exile.  
While I am writing this, Tony's breathing down my neck and repeating every single word I write out loud while making silly faces to much amusement of the others. It is really annoying, but I'm keeping him anyway. We wanted you guys to know that even though Cap's buddy killed Tony's family, we still want you to get your lives back and we will do everything we can to clear your names. Well, except Bucky, that is something we can't influence, at least not in a way Captain would like it. I don't care whether you read it out loud to the others later, but I wanted you to read it first, which you hopefully did. One more very important thing: DO NOT GET INTO ANY SORT OF TROUBLE WHILE IN HIDING! That way we would get into a big disadvantage in clearing you and might not only not succeed but ruin our own careers as well. I would come and kick your asses personally in that case and I can assure you, you don't want me as your enemy. Just hang on there for a little while longer and enjoy your stay in Wakanda. If everything went great in Switzerland, our next big step is to find Natasha. Wish us luck, she's going to be tough to find.  
If you want to get in contact, here is my phone number. It is a secure line no one can trace, Tony's work. But we have to be careful, because even this letter is basically illegal, so if you'd keep it to yourself (the number I mean) it would be great. Maybe I could arrange a call with your family as well if you are interested. I just can't keep looking on those sad smiles your wife wears all day.  
We send our greetings_

 _The Avengers_

 _P.S.: Have hope, leave the rest to us and STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. Oh, and tell Sam Rhodey is okay and walking again._

Clint put the letter down and opened the book. After he was finished, he wiped the tears from his eyes. His curiosity made him pick up the phone and dial the number of their secret ally. Three rings later a voice answered.  
"Hello? Emily here." said a young female voice.  
"Hi, Clint here. I got your letter."  
"Oh, hey Clint. I see you took up my offer.  
"I did. Who are you by the way? I already know you are my wife's boss. I remember you offered me a job in your company when I retired from avenging."  
"Yes, that was me. Too bad you didn't take it."  
"Yeah, I'm regretting it right now. So how do I know I can trust you?"  
"Good question. I hate Ross as well isn't a good answer, is it?"  
"No, but it's a beginning. How about why do you want to save us?"  
"There will come a time this world will need us all united, not only the Avengers, but everyone we can get. This world owes you for New York; you shouldn't be punished for saving it. But the UN was right about the one very important thing and that would be respecting other countries."  
"Ok, so how do you plan on getting Ross out of the way?"  
"That's pretty easy. The secretary of defense of the USA has no power outside his country. But I do. I am the ambassador for mutant and superhuman affairs."  
"Oh, so you have a pretty good chance."  
"Yeah, you could say that. Anyway, your wife asked me to check if you are all right. Are you?"  
"As good as I can be. We're in T'Challa's palace. Could you tell her I love her and I miss her and the kids."  
"I'll pass the message."  
"Thank you. My kids grew quite a bit, mainly Nate. Did he already say his first words?"  
"Yes, it almost sounded like 'bow'. Laura was staring at him in shock. It was funny."  
"Could it be that I saw Bruce in the pictures or better Hulk playing with my kids?"  
"Yes, don't worry, he's harmless. The best part is, we found a good way of using Cap's shield as a Frisbee. He loves to catch it."  
"Wow, now that is news. You know, you are probably the only person who said the words Hulk and harmless in the same sentence."  
"Only a monster can understand another."  
"There is one thing in your letter I'm very curious about. You wrote here that Bucky killed Tony's parents. Didn't they die in a car accident?"  
"Well, that is what everyone thought. I know it from Tony, we found him in Siberia all beaten up in a nonfunctioning suit. If we'd have come an hour later he'd have frozen to death. Just thinking about that still scares me. Anyway, after we received his signal, well Friday sent it seconds before the suit shut down completely it was short but traceable, we retrieved him from Siberia. My team swept the perimeter and also found a tape and I think about 6 or 7 other dead winter soldiers. Anyway, one the way home, Tony told me what was on the tape and later showed me what the suits cameras had recorded. Cap didn't tell you what happened?"  
"Obviously not everything, but I'll make sure to ask him about it. Can I call you again sometime?"  
"Of course, no problem?"  
"And can you get my family on the phone, too?"  
"Sure." Clint smiled at the thought of hearing the voices of his loved ones.  
"Thank you. It's good to know we have someone fighting for us. I'll call you again, bye."  
"Bye!" Emily said, ending the call. She stepped out of the jet at the HQ. Its inhabitants were still sound asleep.

Clint put the phone down. Why wouldn't Steve tell them about something like that? Well they couldn't ask Bucky since he was frozen in a stasis chamber. Even though Clint wasn't best friends with Stark, this was something the Captain would have to explain.  
"Cap?" said the archer walking in.  
"Ah, there you are. What is it?" asked Steve while sitting down with the others.  
"I've been thinking and one part of your story about Siberia doesn't make sense. Why did Stark attack Bucky when he knew it wasn't him?"  
"Maybe out of jealousy. Zemo was very manipulative, you know."  
"So it didn't have anything to do with the fact that your friend killed his parents?" Everyone looked at Steve with a questioning look on their faces.  
"Who told you something like that?"  
"Good source. I'm even starting to think it's more trustworthy than you. Oh, and Sam, you can calm down Rhodes is walking again."  
"Thank god. Wait, how do you know?" Sam tiled his head and waited for Clint's explanation.  
"T'Challa gave me something, a book full of pictures of my family from Laura and the Avengers. There was a letter attached to it." He opened the letter once again and a part of it out loud: " _We wanted you guys to know that even though Cap's buddy killed Tony's family, we still want you to get your lives back and we will do everything we can to clear your names. Well, except Bucky, that is something we can't influence, at least not in a way Captain would like it. Have hope, leave the rest to us and STAY OUT OF TROUBLE. Oh, and tell Sam Rhodey is okay and walking again."_  
"So it wasn't from Stark nor Rhodes. I don't think Vision would use the words buddy and guys." Said Wanda leaning back on the couch.  
"No, it was from their new teammate I think. Oh and according to the pictures, they now also have a Hulk. But back to the start, why didn't you tell us the truth?" Clint turned to Steve.  
"Because it wasn't him. He was brainwashed, ok!" With that the angry Steve left the room and went to stare at his frozen friend.  
Ant man, who remained quiet until now finally opened his mouth: "So, how about changing the topic, show us your kids." Clint cheerfully opened the book and began flipping the pages.

Emily's POV  
I was watching TV and the boys were eating their breakfast when the notification popped up. "Boys, we got a mission. Dress warm, we're going to Russia. Eat up first. Then meet me down in the hangar all suited up." A collective 'Yes, boss!' sounded through the room.  
About 30 minutes later we took off. "Alright, here's what they sent us." A screen popped up in front of each Avengers face.  
"As you can see, we are on our way to Siberia to an old abandoned military base. We won't be far from Japan so we might as well stop for sushi later on. Apparently a group of wanted enhanced individuals is terrorizing the area and they have set up a base there. Which is why military forces have failed to solve the problem and this makes it our problem now. On the screens you have plans provided by the Russian military, so take a good look at them. Tony, Rhodey, I suggest you download them into your suits if you haven't done that already. Any questions?"  
"Not now." said Rhodey when no one answered. "Good. We'll be landing in 15 minutes. Oh, and we have full permission to bust the bunker down if we have to. They said we're less expensive than demolishion."  
Landing on the snow-covered ground I opened the ramp. Tony immediately started to complain about the weather. First it was the snow, then the temperature.

"Damn it! We are so going to freeze here." "Your suit has a heater, what about us? And stop being a crybaby, Tony, it isn't helping!" I shouted finally getting him to shut up. The jet in stealth mode adapted its color to the one of the surrounding. Once everyone got their asses out I closed the ramp. This was to be a long mission. We had to walk for a few minutes to get to the base. At least Bruce and I had to. The rest flew and Tony wouldn't stop complaining. He's a summer person, to say he doesn't like cold would be a big understatement. We finally reached our destination. They were already waiting for us to come around. About 50 guards were positioned in front of the only entrance of the building and another 30 on its rooftop.  
Time to dust of my Russian language knowledge: "Hello, before we arrest you or kill some of you, would you mind having a chat. It doesn't have to end that way, you can just give up and nobody gets hurt!" "No, you shall fall, like the army did. We have all the power, not you. You are outnumbered, you are 2 and we are 100. You give up, we might let you live." "So you won't give up then?" "We will win." Now, this one is an optimist. I gave signal to our air support and said to Bruce: "Well, they want a fight; we might as well give them one. Is my lovely Hulk ready to smash some things?" "He always is." Bruce turned into the Hulk and growled at the living barricade. About 10 of them ran away screaming and another few fainted. The runners were soon stopped by Vision with his ray. They did make a few more attempts, but were stopped every time. Iron Man and War Machine were dealing with the crew on the roof, while Hulk and I were making our way to the entrance. It was a fight that lasted for three more hours. In the end, the military came to pick up the prisoners and their boss. The bunker was completely destroyed in the process. At least no more bad guys can hide in it. The Russian president sent a thank you note.  
Once they left we boarded our own transport and headed to the promised food source in Japan. It's been a long day… 


	32. Why you plan ahead…

**Hi people! After a little break (caused by school) here is a new chapter. It's part of a bigger part called The World Tour, which follows Emily, Tony and our fellow Avengers + Spidey traveling due to the expo all around the world. If you have some preferences for a city or place you'd like them to visit, let me know. This is the beginning of the teams stay in England. Next 2 chapters will be about the stay and meeting the Queen of England.  
I would also like to thank KnowInsight for the wonderful comment and tip and all of you guys who are reading this.  
Enjoy the new chapter!**

Chapter 32- The World Tour (part 1) - Why you plan ahead…

"Guys, I never ever want to hear you complaining about women taking too long. You are far worse!" I've been sitting in the living room for the last hour, with Peter and Vision being the ones to keep me company. According to the mutually agreement we were supposed to meet here, at the Avengers home, an hour and half ago, go pick up Peter and then fly over the ocean to England. Of course, part of being the Avengers is that nothing goes according to the plan. So when I arrived they weren't ready. Giving them some time I turned right at the door and went to get Peter, who was already waiting for us to show up, properly prepared. At least there's hope. He and I were talking while Vision was providing some background music with the piano.

"Peter, do me a favor and don't turn out like them."  
"I'll do my best." He said, scratching the back of his head.  
"Thank you, you are a sweet one you know. Aunt May must be very happy and proud of you."  
"Well, I think she is, most of the time."  
"So, how's school going? Anything new?"  
"You mean beside the fact that I won't be there for the next week?" "Yeah, I'm glad your aunt allowed it, by the way." "Yeah, I didn't expect it too. School's boring. Sometimes I feel it's the same day repeating over and over again, only minor changes."  
"You have a girlfriend?"  
"No. There's this girl I like, but she doesn't even notice me."  
"Ah, that's a shame. You ever talked to her?"  
"What? No, she's way out of my league! She's the hottest and most popular girl in school and she wouldn't even talk to me I know that. I mean why would she? She has a boyfriend, the most popular guy in school; you know the kind all girls run after. I can't compete with him, I'm a geek not a popular kid."  
"If it makes you feel better, I can tell you a story. Once upon a time…"  
"I'm far too old for fairytales."  
"Not a fairytale, I just couldn't come up with a better start. Anyway geeky girl and most popular guy at school. Those two didn't like each other at all, despite the fact that they never talked or anything. One day a teacher put up group or pair projects and thought it would be very funny to make them work together."  
"How did it end?"  
"Well, the boy wasn't very keen on spending a Friday evening working with a geek, but thankfully, he was the kind that wanted to get out of the school as fast as possible, so he at least showed up, but planned on leaving soon to go to a party. She saw that he wanted to get out ASAP, so she didn't bother to try and stop him. But the universe had other plans and with it being winter they got snowed in. They had no other choice but to get along and talk and as it turned out, they found that they had a lot more in common than they thought. They not only finished their project that night, but found a new friend. The friendship eventually grew to love. And even though it didn't always go smooth, they remained best friends till today."  
"Wow. But how do you know that?"  
"Look at the TV, that's them." The pictures that popped up on-screen showed the two young people at the piano and at the opening of the expo.  
"I know it doesn't exactly fit the situation here, but I wanted to tell you that everything works out eventually."  
"Thanks, I guess. What do you think they are doing?"  
"I have no idea, but come on, let's drag them out of there." We got off the couch and walked towards the rooms. Chatter was coming out of one of them. Vision, sensing what was coming, said: "I shall wait in the kitchen."  
"Peter, wanna play good cop, bad cop?"  
"Let me guess, I'm the good one?"  
"Yes, and you go first."  
He entered the room and said: "Hey, sorry to interrupt, but Emily and I have been waiting for you for the last hour or so. I think it may be better to get going."  
"Hour? We lost track of time." I heard the guys swallow hard.  
"You are at least packed, right?"  
"Yeah, we were ready 30 minutes ago, then we kind of started talking and then we had a few drinks… It's good to see you by the way."  
"Likewise, but we really should get going."  
A hushed voice, I recognized as Tony's, came out of the room. "She's standing right behind the door, isn't she?" Peter didn't say a word, so he probably nodded because unnatural silence dawned over the room. Peter ran out. My turn.  
"Anthony Edward Stark, we were supposed to be halfway over the ocean. Boys, I am ashamed of you and pissed so get off your asses and get into that damn jet before I make you."  
I should have definitely shouted at them a lot earlier. Peter and I were sitting in the cockpit, when the others came rushing in. The suitcases were thrown next to mine, Visions and Spidey's and once all passengers were sitting and fastened we took off.  
The flight was silent, which makes me wonder if they were afraid to say something or if they fell asleep. Peter was inspecting every single inch of the cockpit with curious eyes. Vision, was, well, being Vision. He was looking out of the window lost in thoughts.  
Thankfully we traveled to London a day in advance. I can't imagine what it would be like to meet the Queen of England with most of them having a hangover.  
"Peter, do you think you could check on them? This is seriously unnatural." "Sure, Ms. S." The sky was getting brighter every minute as we approached our final destination. "They are asleep." "Good, thanks. So, ever been to London?" "No, I didn't have a passport until two months ago." "Exited?" "Yes, can we go sightseeing?" "I'm sure we'll find some time to do so. But first we'll leave those in the hotel and go check on the London Expo." This is the actual reason for us heading to London, 'cause this year we are going global. Except the big expo in NY, there are about 20 smaller ones all around the world and during this year we are going to visit them all.  
"We'll be landing, everyone buckle up. We have a strong wind from the west, rain, god I hope this day won't get any worse. Jarvis, I might need some help, get the stabilizers out. We'll do it the old fashioned way." "Old fashioned way?" asked Peter slightly concerned. "Normally, all those planes I have they take off and land vertically. It saves space, is faster and with all the tech in those things also a lot easier. But you have to 'stop' in the air for it and with a wind this strong, it would blow us into a building if we tried, so that leaves us to landing like most other pilots do, what I call the old fashioned way. I'm not going to lie, it won't be a soft touch-down, but we'll make it."  
It was far from a soft landing, but at least it woke up all the remaining passengers. The tower at RAF Northolt airport navigated us to the booked hangar where the limousines, 3 blue Rolls-Royce Phantoms, were already waiting. While all our suitcases were getting moved to the cars I filled out the necessary papers and patted my beloved Flipper whispering 'Good job' before getting into the limo myself.  
"Looks like we'll have to postpone the sightseeing tour, sorry Peter."  
"If you wish, ma'am I could drive you around the city as the expo is closed today as well due to the weather."  
"Thanks George."  
"Where to first?"  
"The hotel, we'll drop off what we don't need and then we can drive around."  
"As you wish." Said George, the driver, then he let the other limo know the plan and the convoy started moving. I leaned my head against the window. No, I wasn't pissed at the boys, it was just the emotions that I wanted to let out, but I couldn't. Man, was I scared; the wind was playing with the jet as if it was a paper plane. No matter how often something like this happens it scares me to death every time. But we're all safe now, back on the ground. I closed my eyes, with the traffic it is going to take us another hour to get to the hotel.

Tony's POV

Well, seems like today's plans are scraped. No one is going to get me out in this weather. I was sitting in the car with Rhodey. Bruce and Vision were in the last.  
"You think she's still pissed at us?"  
"I sure as hell hope not. For all I know, we booked 3 rooms at the hotel, two people each so one of us will have to share with her."  
"We could have Peter or Vision. She isn't pissed at them." I rolled my eyes at him.  
"You knew I wouldn't agree to that." Emily might be right about my jealousy after all.  
"Of course, it made you volunteer to be the victim of her wrath." Then Rhodey started laughing.  
"What's so funny?"  
"She tamed you. Either that or you finally grew up. Everyone was expecting you to go back to being a playboy after you and Pepper broke up. But you went to Emily instead. By the way, what did you do to get her to forgive you?"  
"It took a lot of begging and pleading, well not really. But it wasn't easy. There's this one thing that keeps bothering me, though."  
"Which is?" Well, Rhodey is a good friend to talk to.  
"Do you think Pepper and I would have had a chance?" There, I said it.  
"Dude, you still can't get over her, can you? She was good for you, very good. I miss her too, but from what you've told me… I don't know, Tony, I really don't. Maybe you would have maybe not, but she made her choice and you should accept it." Sure.  
"I should, but somehow, no matter what I do... When we broke up we said it was nobody's fault, but I know it was mine. I always put Iron Man on the first place, she should have been there. But I just couldn't, Rhodey and I still can't. I still love her. She's happy with Happy. That's all I ever wanted for her, to be happy, safe. I know that with her being away from Iron Man, Avengers and SI, she is safer than she was with me. But still…" …she haunts me in my dreams, when I sit in my office at Stark Industries, tinker with my armors, see the Avengers Tower…  
"That's life, buddy. My very important question is: Do you love Emily or is she just a consolation prize?"  
"I love her, there is no way she'd be a consolation prize." No, there isn't. She was my first actual love.  
"Good, because if you hurt her again, I'll personally kick your sorry ass." I bet you would, but I'm not planning on letting her go this time around.  
"I'll do my best not to, but with my track record, you can never know." Platypus looked at me to prove his point.  
"Remember, I'm watching you. Now, do you have an idea on how to get her to forgive us for the delay?"  
"Use my charm on her, tell her nothing bad happened and we were only an hour late so no biggie. Then maybe compliment her about her piloting skills although the landing could have been a lot smoother."  
"Leave the part about the landing out and we'll be good."  
"But I will point it out sometime anyway."  
"Which hotel are we actually staying at?"  
"I have no idea, Emily and Pepper booked it a year ago. And I didn't care."  
We finally reached the hotel; Emily and Peter were already at the reception. Bruce and Vision joined us shortly after.  
"So who is with whom? All of the rooms have two twin beds so don't worry about sleeping together in one bed." asked Emily holding up the keycards.  
"Well, Tony and I already talked during the drive from the airport, he's all yours." Rhodey pushed me towards Emily.  
"You made it sound as if it was the worst thing in the world, did I miss something?" Emily looked back and forth between me and Platypus.  
"I'll take Spidey." Emily handed Bruce the key from their room and tossed the other one to Rhodey.  
"Alright, get settled, unpack or don't, Peter wanted a city tour, so we'll meet here in an hour and go for a drive since the weather is awful. Take your jackets we may go out if the rain stops. Oh, and don't be late this time." With that she turned and walked to the elevators with the baggage guys in tow. We followed them swiftly.  
She does seem pretty pissed, sure and we are just adding oil to the fire. The guys went to their room and I followed Emily to ours. Carefully closing the door behind the baggage guy I walked into the bedroom. Better ask now than later.  
"You're still pissed at us?"  
"What? No. Why do you think?"  
"Well, we didn't talk since we left the base, you seem tense to me and you are a bit pale." Now I think it's safe to step closer. She got up from the floor and sat down on one of the beds and run her hands over her face.  
"We couldn't talk, because you were asleep the whole flight. I talked to Peter and Vision, though."  
"Good point. About the flight, you could work on the landing part a bit, it was horrible." I said letting out a small laugh. Emily didn't seem to share my amusement. Instead she let herself fall on the pillows behind her.  
"Don't even remind me about it and be glad we actually landed. We had strong west wind so there was no way to land softly. It was scary, Tony. Sure, I had Jarvis' help, but still. For a few moments I seriously thought we might not make it out alive. And I'm tired."  
That explains much. "Come here."I wrapped my arms around her.  
"So just to clarify, you are not pissed at us."  
"You just had to ruin the moment and no, I'm not."  
"Good, very good. Now, how about we get dressed and go for coffee downstairs?"  
"I hate coffee. But I like the idea."  
10 minutes later we were sitting at the table, me with coffee and Em with tea. The color already returned to her face and she seemed fine.  
"You know, I swear this country hates me. Every time I come here, it's raining."  
"Your entire stay or just a few days?"  
"Just a few days, thankfully."  
"Good, we wouldn't want our stay to be ruined by the weather."  
Once we were joined by the boys we got into the car to drive around London. This time we had a minibus waiting for us. Unfortunately the rain did not stop, so the only view we had of London was through the car windows.

Emily's POV

I got out of the shower, finally relaxed. The sky over England's capital darkened and my roommate was spread out in front of the TV. Flipping through channels and commenting every single one of them. I sat down next to him and took the remote from his hands.  
"What is eating you up that you have to let it out on the TV remote?"  
"Nothing, just… Just a conversation with Rhodey earlier."  
"Want to talk about it?"  
"Not really."  
"Is it about Pepper? You can't let her go, right?"  
"Yeah, that's basically it. Any idea how to deal with it?"  
"Give it time. You'll never let her go entirely, she was special to you, but the pain lessens in some time."  
"You speak from experience, don't you? Sorry, that wasn't nice."  
"But it's true. Keep going, what's on your mind?"  
"I feel like this is unfair to you. If you want to break up, we can, let us remain friends. Just let me tell you this. Pepper, I'll always love her, but I love you, much more than I thought I could. I swear. "  
"That's all I need to know. You know, you should start to trust yourself more in a relationship. Ever since we got together, you asked me at least twice if I wanted to break it off. Let me tell you this, I don't. Please, let yourself be loved again, let me love you."  
"I'll try, but let me love you, too."  
With that, he kissed me…


	33. Trips

**Hello there! I recently rewatched CACW and I couldn't help myself, but wonder if Tony was at Peggy's funeral or not, because seriously I think he knew her. I kind of feel that it's missing in the movie, even though the first info stated it would explore in it. Anyway, you probably already guessed that this will be one of the topics of this chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 33- Trips

Third Person's POV

"Where are we going first?"  
"Peter, calm down, it's 8AM and I haven't had my coffee." said Bruce as they were walking down the hall towards the dining area.  
They were met by an equally grumpy billionaire and a bit less grumpy colonel. Vision had the best mood since he doesn't need to sleep and therefore immune to being jet lag. Emily, well she was listening to Vision as he was going detailed over every possible tourist attraction in London. Not that she was very interested in it, she was still half asleep.  
"Hey, guys! Slept well?" asked Rhodey, making a pause in Visions monologue.  
"Yeah, more or less. Where's the coffee?"  
Sometime into breakfast Peter went to call his aunt. This left the adults alone to talk. Rhodey used the time to ask.  
"So, you guys are ok? Both of you haven't said a word the whole time."

Tony and Emily looked at each other. "Yeah, we're good. Just tired, I guess." Em nodded at Tony's explanation.  
"You guys better be telling the truth. So what are the plans?"  
"Get dressed, warm and we're going to walk around the city." answered Emily holding the cup of tea in her hands.  
Two hours later the team met up in front of the hotel. Tony and Emily, who was holding a camera, were already waiting in front of the hotel for the rest of the group, talking about places they were going to visit. Or better explained Tony was talking about how boring it was going to be.  
Once everyone showed up, the group moved towards the first stop on the list, the Tower Bridge.  
"You know, they really should make it go up faster."  
"Tony, it's an old bridge and this, whatever is doing the lifting, has to lift a road so that it doesn't crumble into pieces."  
"Still doesn't mean it can't go up faster." Emily just sighed, there was no point in this argument and sometimes it's just better to leave it be. The group waited until the bridge got down again and crossed the Thames.  
The next stop was the Big Ben. With the camera in her hand, Emily took pictures of our fellow Avengers in tourist typical poses- leaning onto the Big Ben, holding the Big Ben… you can probably imagine. The mini-tour of London, after visiting the British museum and some other places, then came to the London eye.  
Tony and Emily chose to stay behind as they both already had a chance to ride it.  
"Don't worry about us, guys. We'll just sit down somewhere and wait for your ride to finish." said Tony, waving to his friends as they entered the capsule. Then he turned to Emily: "Alright, they'll be busy for at least 30 minutes. Let's go."  
"The ride is already here, including your order."  
Within 5 minutes they arrived at their destination.

Tony's POV

I took the bouquet of white roses, helped Em out of the car. The walk through the alley of trees with no leaves, the cloudy grey sky and silence gave this place a strange but fitting atmosphere. Finally we got were we wanted to be. I placed the flowers on the ground, next to a black marble where the name of my aunt was written.

 _Margaret Carter_

 _Mother, wife, aunt, friend and hero_

 _She will be missed dearly_

 _1921-2016_

Well, she wasn't my biological aunt, but who cares; she was always Aunt Peggy to me. I knew she was my father's friend and also a friend to Jarvis. She was kind and funny. Sometimes she would take care of me, when I was a kid and my parents were on business or something. I used to visit her at least once a month; she had Alzheimer's the last few years, so sometimes she mistook me for my late dad. Well, she knew him sooner. Sometimes she would remember old Cap, tell me stories about him.  
The day of her funeral, I knew Cap was there somewhere. They made a stop in London, Widow went to find Rogers. Even though I don't believe in God, Peggy did, so I actually went to the service at the church and stood with Emily in the back. I couldn't get myself to call Pepper and Emily… She came to pay respect to the woman, who to her was a big hero and a great person that she only met a few times, and because she didn't want me to be alone. It hit me hard when I heard she died. Peggy was the last living link I had to my family. No, she was the last living member of my old family. Sharon gave the eulogy. Peggy was very good at I remember what Peggy told me to this day: _"Sometimes doing things right is difficult, sometimes it hurts a lot, but that doesn't mean you should give up. No matter what façade you pull up for the public, deep inside you're still the sweet child I watched grow up into a handsome young man. Make sure you always have someone to trust, be strong and when you find the one, never let them go. Promise me you won't."  
_ "I promise… Goodbye." I whispered to the cold stone.  
She's gone now, but I'll remember her forever. Emi's hand on my shoulder, I stood up and wiped the tears from my face.  
"You remember her?"  
"I do, she was incredible. You don't forget people like that. This one time we were at your place during the summer and she came for a visit, or better to make sure the house would still be standing till your parents returned from their holidays. She was about 60, but she didn't even look like it."  
"Yeah, she was like, hey, what are you two up to. And then she joined the water fight with a hose and we were both doomed. She was a cool aunt."  
"That she was."  
"And remember the time we went to England to see her…"  
With my arm wrapped around Emily's waist we returned to the car to return just in time for the boys not to notice anything. Stopped for coffee on the way as well. I don't want them to see me like this, and I'm certainly not in the mood to explain why we are going to a cemetery that is in no way a tourist attraction. Plus, they didn't know her anyway. It was better this way.

Third person's POV

(Meanwhile back to the London eye)

"It's awesome!" screamed Peter as they reached the highest point of the ride. He and Vision were glued to the capsule window watching London from above. Rhodey and Bruce were also enjoying the view, but they were also entertaining their minds with other things.

"A year ago this would be the last thing I'd be getting into." said Bruce admiring the view.  
"You mean this capsule?"  
"Yeah, imagine a Hulk jumping out of it. It's a great view from here. The last time I was in London, this thing was closed, because it was windy."  
"You've been to London before?"  
"Yeah, to give lectures. You?"  
"Once with Tony for a trip. We ended up in a bar and the only thing I remember is waking up naked."  
"Rough trip."  
"Don't even ask. Where do you think they are, 'cause we both know none of them is the type to just sit down for coffee. Emily can't stand it in general and Tony hates English coffee. He calls it weird tea."  
"I would ask but I don't want to know. Maybe they went to Starbucks or something. We passed a few on our way and Tony likes them."

"Yeah, Fury told me how when Coulson had to babysit him, he wanted agents to get him some."  
"Are we really discussing Tony's taste in coffee?"  
"Seems like we are. Dude, we are bored."

"How is it going with Jennifer?"  
"I have another date with her next week, but I don't think she's the one."  
"How so?"  
"Just a feeling I guess."  
The ride ended and the guys were reunited with the rest of the crew. Em and Tony were each holding a paper cup filled with a hot steaming substance.  
"See, I told you they'd go there."

"Yeah, you were right." admitted Rhodey. Tony picked up the conversation between the scientist and colonel.  
"Right about what, Platypus?"  
"About where you two would go." Tony isn't known for keeping attention on one thing for too long. "Alright, let's get moving. We'll finish the tour and then we need to stop by at the London expo."  
"That means get back to the hotel, shower and change, because as I told you last week, it is going to be a formal event. So please tell me no one forgot his suit and you all have it." Five male heads nodded and Emily was pleased. At least this was taken care of.  
Two hours and a lunch stop later the group arrived at the hotel. The big group divided itself into smaller ones and everyone went to get dressed. The evening was a success; well no big public embarrassments were made. However, the team would have to face one bigger event that week, it being a royal ball, which is something some members of the Avengers weren't really looking forward to.

Two days after that, Tony, having decided London was boring to him was annoying Emily about a trip somewhere.  
"Alright, you won, where do you want to go? Hunt the Loch Ness monster? Trolls in Norway? Or what?" said Emily, her patience slowly coming to its edge, because her buddy didn't shut up for the past three hours and at 2am it was pretty much just a matter of time.  
"No, actually, I was thinking Paris."  
"Paris? Alright, Paris it is then. Why?"  
"No particular reason, just make sure the family trip is interesting."  
"I don't believe you in the slightest. But if you want to go to Paris, then please, shut finally up and let me sleep."  
"Yes, ma'am!"

Just like Tony proposed, the Avengers embarked on their trip that day. The weather in France was wonderful. Here and there was still snow to be found. After visiting the Eiffel Tower, the team sat down in a nice little restaurant. Thankfully at least two people could speak French to order the food.  
"So, Tony. Why Paris?" asked Bruce while they were waiting for their order.  
"No reason, it was just close and I was getting bored."  
"So where're we going afterwards?"  
"Louvre, Science centre, museum of vampires, maybe visit the catacombs, Em forbid one part of my plan, but she said to go there for the man night if we want to, Curie's museum, Statue of Liberty, oh, and this big submarine they have on display. And we'll end the evening in this bar I heard about."  
Emily, having recounted all the places Tony mentioned just shook her head: "You don't really believe we'll actually manage to see all of those things, do you?"  
"No, I was thinking about coming tomorrow as well. But the science centre is a must, then we'll see."  
With the visit of the center over, Em was really glad to have taken several memory cards for the camera. Bruce, Tony, Peter and Vision were like little kids, inspecting every exhibition to the detail and then lead debates how fast they could build it at home. Of course they had to spend the next hour in the souvenir shop. Rhodey and Emily were waiting in front of the centre in the big park. Rhodey was focused on something in the distance.  
"What are you looking at?"  
"Better whom. See that woman?"  
"She's pretty. Is she your ex or something?"  
"No, she looks like Natasha. Just with blond hair."  
"Black Widow? Don't you want to try and talk to her?"  
"What if it's not her?"  
"Well then, let me come with you in case you need a translator. Come on, we won't know unless we try to find out."  
Together they walked towards the blond haired lady.  
"Natasha?"


	34. Tony and the Queen

**Hi! Another chapter is here! One where a drunk Tony almost causes an international incident, Ross is annoying Emily, and an inside look an what Natasha is doing in Paris.  
Hope I still have some Wolverine fans here as well. I went to see Logan this weekend. It was a great movie, but it made me sad. Wolverine was and always will be my favorite superhero (no offence, Tony, but Logan started it all). This movie really paid tribute to Wolverine and I'll just shut up now, 'cause I don't want to give away any spoilers. Anyway, I don't think I'll tie that movie in here, I'll just use it's AU as an excuse (in case anyone was wondering).  
**

Chapter 34- Tony and the Queen

Emily's POV

"Natasha?" the blond woman spun around and was met with his eyes.

"Rhodey? You are walking? How did you find me?" Seeing that the translator wasn't needed at all, I stayed in the distance and observed the entrance of the Science Centre. I still have no idea how we are going to get all that stuff back and I don't even know what they bought.  
"Yes I am, it took a few surgeries, some learning and here I am, standing on my own two feet. We were in a trip here and Em and I were waiting for the rest when I saw you, well at first I thought I was just imagining things, but turns out it's really you. What are you doing here?"

"Something I had to take care of and hiding. Who is Em? New friend or girlfriend?"  
"Old friend, actually, bossing us around, well Tony is our leader, but she's the boss anyway. I swear she was right behind me. Emily! Come here."  
"Don't you also want to use a dog whistle on me, Rhodey, come on, I'm no dog." Well not that I don't have something in common with them. I abandoned my previous position and walked towards them.  
"Natasha, this is Emily Stark."  
"Nice to meet you, the guys told me a lot about you."  
"Likewise, don't believe half of it. How did you get to them?" said Natasha with a smirk.  
"Tony brought her by, once he got back from the hospital and him and Pepper broke up for good."  
"Thank you, Rhodey, but I sure can speak for myself. The guys were seriously understaffed when I came. The Avengers were basically a name with nobody in it."  
"We are now part of a bigger alliance, Nat. It's awesome."  
"A part of something? What is it called?"  
"The IPA."  
"IPA, as in the International Peacekeeping Alliance?"  
"Yeah, that one. Oh, god what were they thinking!"  
Rhodey pointed to the entrance of the centre. The moment I turned around I regretted it. Our 4 science fanatics came out with bags hanging all over them.  
"I'll handle it, you two hang out." I run up the stairs to the entrance where I was met with four bagmen.  
"So, do the four of you want to tell me how on Earth we are supposed to carry all of this around Paris?"  
"We could take it to the jet and…"  
"Tony, the jet is in England, we came here on a fast train."  
"Oh…" realization dawned on the scientists.  
"We could just go back earlier and come tomorrow as well." Said Tony trying his luck. All 4 of them gave the best puppy eyes they could, even thou Vision was freaking me a bit out.  
"What am I supposed to do with you? Alright, I give up, you won. Come on, we'll go to Rhodey. Don't fall down the stairs."  
The boys satisfied with the outcome, followed me. We reached Rhodey and Nat shortly and the guys had to restrain themselves in order to not to let the bags fall once they saw their friend.

"Nat?"  
"In person, nice to see or not to see you guys again." Said Natasha trying to get a view of the males faces.  
"So, Rhodey told me you are totally under the UN now."  
"Yes, the UN's trained monkeys. We do or don't do what they want, depends on if it's stupid or it actually important."  
"So you can pick your fights after all. Did you bribe the diplomats, Tony?"  
"Hey, why do you think it's my doing? And no, I did not; being part of the IPA does have certain perks. Actually, if Cap hadn't screwed it up, we could have gone on working without a change. That was my plan from the very beginning, get the Avengers into a bigger team. It would have worked out, if not for Rogers and his murder buddy."  
"You and I both know it wasn't only Steve's fault."  
"Alright, it was Roger's and Zemo's fault and Barnes'." Nat rolled her eyes.  
Bruce tried to change the topic. "So, what brings you to France?"  
"I have something to do here, so the job. Where were you the past year and something?"  
"Small island of Fidji, came back last autumn. It took a bit of persuading from the young lady here, but I'm glad to be back."  
"Good to hear. I just don't understand why you left."  
"You know why, Natasha."  
The guys and I were looking back and forth between the two. It was like a sad love story, with the looks in their eyes, especially Bruce's, Natasha was good at hiding emotions.  
"But if you would come back with us, maybe we could try and work it out. I can't promise anything only that this time, I won't run away and neither will Hulk."  
"Depends if Stark lets me."  
"Hey, I'm not pissed at you for what you did in Germany. Well, I was, but you are a friend, and the charges have been suppressed so I don't see why not. We all make mistakes, so there is no reason for me not to welcome you back to the Avengers. Besides, we could use another female on the team, at least Emi here would have company."  
My phone rang. "Sorry, got to pick this one up. Hello, Emily Stark here."  
 _"Finally, this is Ross, where are you?"  
_ "Paris, why?"  
 _"Great, I need to send you on a mission. I think I located the convicts. Some people claim they saw the former Avengers in France, near Wakanda's Embassy."  
_ "And? What am I supposed to do with it?" T'Challa was attending the ball as well, he brought them by, I kind of suppose they'll be in London with him as well.  
 _"Capture, arrest and bring to prison. I thought you are smarter."_ Did he just call me stupid? You are so going to regret it, Ross.  
"Yeah, I got that part, but I'm not doing it."  
 _"Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't call the UN to arrest you now."  
_ "First of all, I suppose you know this whole conversation is being recorded, right? Second, I'm officially on vacation, which means I don't work in case you don't understand the meaning of this word. Final and most important last time I checked you are the secretary of defense of the USA, not a member of UN or IPA's security council, so until French government calls me on that matter, I'll do nothing. You have no power here. If they are on the grounds of the Wakanda Embassy, then they are free there. Anything else I can help you with?" Counter that, moron.  
 _"No."_ And he hung up. This guy is like a cloud, once he's gone the day's a lot brighter.  
"Who was it?" came Tony's curious voice.  
"Ross, he was probably bored again."  
"Pissed you of?"  
"Yeah, so I countered and he hung up afterwards."  
"So does that mean learning diplomacy was a good idea after all?"  
"I'll just agree, so you'll stop." In the distance I saw some familiar looking faces watching us. I guess Ross may have been right after all. But he's still an idiot. Natasha's phone buzzed.  
"I guess I have to leave you guys now, I really have to finish this job."  
"Alright, we'll be in London till Saturday, so if you finish up until then, we gladly take you back with us. We have a meeting with the Queen." said a grinning Tony. The others nodded.  
"Take care of yourselves. Emily, good luck at the Buckingham palace, knowing them you are going to need it."  
"Thank you, Natasha. And just for the future, you should really tell them to work on hiding in public, they are far too obvious. See you later then." Natasha pretended not to know for a while, then gave up and smiled instead.  
As we walked away, Tony asked who I was talking about. "She knows. And if you get your asses into the train I'll tell you."

Third person's POV

With the gang gone Natasha allowed herself to relax a bit. She looked around and inspected the surrounding. The girl was right, they were far too obvious. She walked towards the blond haired guy.  
"For a moment I thought you would leave with them."  
"You should work on being less obvious, their newest recruit was capable of identifying you without much effort. If a beginner can do this, you are bad."  
"Who was it?"  
"Name's Emily Stark and from Tony's reactions and protectiveness of the girl, I'm pretty sure it's his daughter."  
"He would have told us if he had one."  
"Clint, they didn't know about your family until two years ago. She looks about 16 to 20, so she's probably not Peppers. Call the rest here, so we can talk."  
"Nat, long time no see."  
"It's good to see you again guys." Natasha gave Steve a hug before sitting down.  
"So what's new with you?"  
"Not much, we're hunting down some stones for Thor and a princess as well."

"Thor decided to settle down on earth?"  
"The stones should be with the princess, we're more after them. Thor said they had power to destroy the world if they land in wrong hands. He wants the girl, which would be an old lady by now, as well, saying she's the protector of those stones. Didn't give us much though and he's now back in Asgard to get more info."  
"Interesting." Clint put his drink down and joined the conversation.  
"Speaking of girls, did you know Stark's got a teenage daughter?"  
"Really?"  
"Ask Nat, she saw her up close." All pairs of eyes present turned to the assassin.  
"What does she look like? Wait was it the girl you talked to?"  
"Yes, that was her with Rhodey, she saw you by the way. You should work on being more inconspicuous."  
"Describe her looks. Was she hot?" Said Ant Man.  
"I'd say she's pretty. Dark brown reddish hair, blue eyes, probably takes after her mother, but she had this Tony-like sarcasm that came out on a few occasions. She's more polite then he is. From what he said she took diplomacy classes. And Stark's protective of her."  
"Awesome, so another Stark to deal with."  
"So you decided what you're going to do now?"  
"I probably take up Bruce's offer and return to the compound. I'll have better access to everything from there. Oh, and the Avengers are now part of the big IPA."  
"Was it the one that told us of after intercepting with their mission in Lagos?"  
"Exactly, turns out Stark planned to get us in for longer now. They are free to pick their missions even. They got an exception from the Sokovia Accords of some sort."  
"How did they get Bruce? "  
"I don't know. But he said it took some persuading. Give me all you got on those stones and I'll join your search…"

The Avengers were sitting in the fast train listening to Emily talking about the phone call with Ross and the people she saw.  
"So, they were there."  
"Yes."  
"You think Natasha was supposed to meet up with them in the park."  
"Yes. I mean so many birds in the bush at once."  
Vision was looking quite confused. "What do birds in bushes have to do with it?"  
"It's a phrase. It means accidents. There couldn't be that many accidents at once. Statistically it's almost impossible."  
"That is correct. Do you think she'll come back with us?"  
"We'll see, Viz. We'll see…"  
Tony decided it was time to change the topic:  
"So, you going to see Logan once we get back?"  
"Sure, he wanted to meet up."  
"So, you'll go out with him. Where to?"  
"We could all hang out at the compound if it helps you with your jealousy."  
"Hey, I'm in no way jealous of that guy." No member of the group tried to suppress the laughter at this point. Tony's jealousy was far too obvious no matter how hard he tried to hide or deny it.  
The group returned to their hotel in the afternoon. The rest of the day was spent wandering around London's shopping centers. The rest of the days left flew by fast.

Emily's POV

Well, it's Friday, the day of the Royal ball. We haven't heard from Natasha yet, hopefully she'll let us know until tomorrow. After having my hair and make-up done, I finally returned to our room at the hotel. The new red dress Tony insisted on buying yesterday, just because it was red with golden ornaments, which to me look like Christmas but remind him of Iron Man, was hanging on the door. He hid my other one, so I don't really have much of a choice. The room was empty. The boys probably did as they were told and took the remaining luggage to the plane. Tony's red tie was thrown on the bed, next to his suit jacket. That guy is going to be freaking hot in it. I took the dress of the hook and even managed to pull the zipper up, only to realize I have to pee, so I ran to the bathroom. Tony was standing in front of the mirror when I got out.  
"You look breathtaking."  
"Thank you. You don't look bad either."  
"That I've been told. Could you?" he pointed to his tie.  
"Sure, come here." He didn't take long to use the opportunity to pull me into a kiss.  
"Now, as much as I don't want to, we should get going. We have another hour, but the traffic is horrible, trust me."  
"Who are you and what did you to my Tony?"  
Smirking, the guy-pretending-to-be-Tony-but-wanting-to-be-on-time walked me to the entrance hall of the hotel, where we waited for the Avengers to come around.

Tony was right, the traffic was horrible. We were the few ones on time, besides the Queen and the royal family. The remaining guest joined us shortly afterwards. The evening started like a formal dinner, continued as a ball. T'Challa was also present, which gave us some opportunities to chat. Sometime into the party, I lost Tony. It wouldn't be that big of a thing, the bad part was where I found him and in what state. I knew he had a few drinks, and with the guys not having seen him for some time either, I grew worried, so I made my way through the crowd of people. What my eyes saw was probably the next big international scandal. A drunken Tony was sitting next to the Queen of England rambling about something. I breathed through and with all the pride I had left walked (which wasn't much at this point) towards the Queen.

"Your highness, please let me apologize for him and if he insulted you in any way, I'm very sorry, I'm sure he did not mean it." The Queen didn't get to say a word, though. Tony was first: "Emi, I was just talking about you. See, Emperor, that's her." She looked at me and finally said: "No problem my dear, he wasn't being offensive in any way. Sit down with us; we are having a very interesting conversation." I did as I was told, she is after all the Queen.  
"Tony here was telling me about you, he really loves you very much."  
"I know he does, I love him, too."  
"This I thought. He was very talkative. He told me about everything that happened in the past year. He called you a princess." God, Tony, can't you at least once keep your drunken mouth shut.  
"He likes to nickname people. He also calls me alien. But yes, the past year had been very difficult for him."  
"He has you now to help him through." I smiled. The Queen left to talk to her other guests.

We left the party an hour later, after saying our goodbyes to the queen. Tony was asleep the whole ride. T'Challa also told us Natasha chose to stay in Wakanda for a while and then return to the compound.  
In the morning we embarked on our long flight home…


	35. Loki-ed

Chapter 35- Loki-ed

It was another weekend at the Avengers base. After a rough week, consisting of Ross, still not understanding the IPA teams are under the UN and not under him, urging me to find the Rouge avengers (he actually came up with this on his own), loads of paperwork, running the New York Expo, crime fighting and running both GNC and Stark Industries 'cause Tony was with Bruce and Vision in South Korea visiting Dr. Cho, I was more than happy it was Friday. It's been two weeks since our trip in London. Peter was back at school, occasionally stopping by and fighting his own fights, which left only Rhodey and me. We were sitting on the couch, drinking beer and watching Pirates of the Caribbean, because why not.  
"Imagine Tony fighting with Jack Sparrow."  
"Oh, that would be both awesome and horrible at the same time, Rhodey."  
"Why horrible?"  
"First it would be amusing, then you'd get the feeling it would never end and in the end they'd team up on you."  
"Right and then there would be no way to stop them. So, when is the rest coming back?" "Am I that bad of a company? Sunday, I think."  
"No, you're not. Just wondering how many more days left."  
"They only left three days ago and will be back tomorrow. You miss them already?"  
"No, it's just so silent here. By the way, do you have any idea what the crane's doing on the hill?"  
"Tony's reconstructing some of the old warehouses I guess, you know how he gets when he sees rusty stuff." Yeah, no, but I was sworn to secrecy.  
"Interesting." He didn't get to say more, because my phone went off. It was Bruce, at least that's what the caller id said. I put him on speaker.  
"Hey, Bruce. What's up?"  
 _"Hi, Emily, Vision here."  
_ "Viz, good to hear from you. How is the trip?"  
 _"Well, it was good, but it got a little complicated."  
_ "Did Tony get drunk, insulted the president or prime minister?" asked Rhodey.  
 _"No, actually this would have been a bit better. He didn't. The official meetings went fine, until it went wrong."  
_ "Viz, could you please already tell us what happened? Emily looks like she's about to freak out."  
 _"Well, then I am hoping you are sitting. Anyway, as we were leaving the meeting, Loki showed up and somehow managed to, um… He aged Tony backwards."  
_ "What?!" Rhodey and I stared at each other in disbelief.  
 _"Yes, well he too looked puzzled. We are currently packing, so we should be back within a few hours."_

"Vision, just how much backwards did Loki age Tony?"  
 _"Bruce said he looks about 6 months old. If you could get some stuff for him it would be great, we have no idea how long he'll be like this. Loki ran off, so we'll have to find him first. Tony's still sleeping. I have to go now."  
_ "Thanks for the update, Viz. Looks like we'll be going baby shopping. See you soon."

We sat a few minutes in silence, trying to sort things out.  
"I kind of wish he had insulted someone instead." Was the first thing to come out of my mouth.  
"I know what you mean."

30 minutes later we parked in front of Babies 'r' us. Now this is going to be interesting. We entered the store and didn't know where to first.  
"Let's start with diapers. That should be easy." It wasn't. But we finally managed with the help of shop assistants. Next up were clothes. We found some cute ones that looked like the Iron Man armor. Toys were easy; we ended up buying a lot. We still had the crib we got for Nathaniel, so that left us with only a few more things on the list. Once we got past baby food and changing matt, we spent the next hour going over strollers and car seats. Well, I did, Rhodey had enough and was leaning against one of the shopping carts and playing with his phone. My final choice was a red, practical travel system. The stroller seat was turnable and it was easy to fold. We took the whole set, including a bassinet with a rocker base, the infant and toddler car seat.  
"We really need all of it?" asked Rhodey when he saw me approaching.  
"I don't know; which is why we're buying it. Don't you complain, I'm the one paying for it anyway. Oh, and we need to get a teething ring or something, you know, to chew on. The only things I know about babies this age is that they can smile, some can sit, maybe are starting to crawl and they are teething so they are mostly grumpy."  
"Just asking, but a red stroller for a boy?"  
"We're talking Tony here, his favorite color is hot rod red."  
"Right, I forgot for a moment. So do we have everything? Can we go now?"  
"I sure as hell hope so. Let's go to the check out."  
The final amount of money spent made Rhodey pale, but he managed to get to the car without passing out. After we somehow, being glad we took the SUV and not one of the sport cars, managed to get everything in the car (that thing was stuffed from top to bottom) we finally went home.

The guys landed just when we, with the help of some Shield stuff, finished unloading the car. Vision stepped out first followed by Bruce, who carried the sleeping infant dressed in only Tony's shirt.  
" Hey, guys. I hope you got him something to wear. We just left him in the shirt."  
"No worries, Emily here made sure we had everything. We just got back from shopping."

With that we went into the building, where we all finally got a peek at the baby.  
"Aww, he's so cute." The males just rolled their eyes. Little Tony stirred and slowly opened his big brown eyes. He looked around for a bit and then started screaming from the top of his lungs. Bruce's attempts to calm him failed totally, so he just pushed the little screamer into my arms saying something like 'you're female, it's more natural'. Thank you very much. Rocking, walking around and soothing words didn't have an effect. The guys ran of god knows where leaving me alone with him. Alright, think girl… Right, music, Tony's mom could sing and I for one know that songs are the one way to get an adult Tony to sleep as well. So I started with my favorite lullaby:

" _Lullaby, and good night, in the skies stars are bright.  
May the moon's silvery beams bring you sweet dreams.  
Close your eyes now and rest, may these hours be blessed.  
'Til the sky's bright with dawn, when you wake with a yawn."_

It seemed to worked as the baby stopped screaming.

" _Lullaby, and good night, you are mother's delight.  
I'll protect you from harm, and you'll wake in my arms._

 _Sleepyhead, close your eyes, for I'm right beside you.  
Guardian angels are near, so sleep without fear."_

Little Tony was smiling and drooling all over my shoulder. I figured I'd leave the rest for the night. Damn, was he cute! He even had some hair on his head, dark blonde. This is surely something interesting.  
I dressed the little boy properly and put him on the carpet next to some random toys I managed to take out with one hand. With the baby occupied I assembled the stroller, choosing the seat instead of the bassinette so he could look around. Fishing out another toy to keep the kiddo occupied I notice he was not in the same place I left him. In fact he was right next to me. That means he can crawl, how else could he have overcome the pillow barrier I set up around him. Putting baby Tony in the stroller with the toy from before, I prepared a bottle for him and we made our way down to the Shield meeting room where the guys were hiding.  
"See, I told you she could do it!"  
"Yeah, but you guys could at least have assembled this thing or the play pen for that matter."  
"He can't walk so he can't run away from you anyway. So where was the problem?" asked Rhodey. Instead of answering him, I took Tony out of the stroller and set him on the ground. The boy started crawling around.  
"Oh, I didn't expect that. Sorry."  
"Well, it's Tony, we probably should have expected that." added Bruce observing the crawler. "How did you get him to calm down?"  
"I sang to him. If it works on the adult one, it works on the baby."  
"Wait, are you saying that you can calm an adult Tony by singing to him? Where have you been the whole time? Do you know how many times we had to suffer through his endless jokes and nicknames and pranks and…" At this moment everyone was laughing at Fury. This was hilarious.  
"You know it doesn't work that way. Only if he can't fall asleep or he's having an anxiety attack."  
"He has anxiety attacks? He never mentioned."  
"Yeah, he had and still has but in a milder form, don't blame yourselves for not noticing, he hides it pretty well. But they aren't that bad like those he had after the battle of New York. That was bad. He suffered from PTSD."

"I don't get why he never told about it to any of us."  
"He's afraid to trust people, Bruce, that's why. The worst part about it is, he has a good reason for it. To Tony, being able to trust someone is not something he came across very often. He was often betrayed by the people he thought he could trust, those he thought cared about him. Obie, his father figure, tried to get him killed, got terrorists to kidnap and torture him, then he tried to kill him himself. Would you open up to someone after something like that? Thought so. Then you guys came by, the Avengers. He was so enthusiastic about it, having you in the tower. But where did it end? Again in betrayal, by a friend of his father. It could be much worse with him, I probably shouldn't even have told you all of this, but I had the feeling you should know about it. Like I said he's better now, because he has something he didn't have before – a loving family he can trust. That's you guys." Baby Tony was babbling something, but he looked like he knew what I was talking about. He was giving me something like an approving look. Great, I'm imagining things already. I picked him up and he snuggled against my neck. The big boys including Fury were processing what I told them. Taking the bottle from the stroller bag I put it into Tony's mouth. He was staring at me with those big eyes of his. Bruce shifted in his chair.  
"I guess you're right. You know, when we met for the first time, we were in the lab of the helicarrier and he told me that the gamma radiation should have killed me, that the Hulk protected me from death. He was trying to make me to try to get along with Hulk instead of fighting him. Maybe we should have tried to look past his cover and not right at it."  
"He cares about you guys, a lot, he just has his own ways of showing it. Now, instead of playing psychologists, how about we focus on either finding Loki or getting our old Tony back. Anyone having any ideas?"  
The room fell silent. "Ok, so how about you guys tell us exactly what happened."  
"Well, Tony, Bruce and I were leaving the hotel with the prime minister. Tony noticed something in the crowd of people, which turned out to be Loki. He was aiming at the prime minister, but Mr. Stark threw himself between them, causing Loki to hit him instead of his original target. Loki was startled at first, but ran off with the panicking crowd. I believe we will encounter him soon enough. He also appears to have a new scepter."  
Baby Tony nodded off. We decide it would be best to get some sleep and think about everything in the morning.

Thanks to the power of the internet, news about Tony's 'accident' in South Korea spread much too fast. The official Avengers web site Tony set up a few weeks ago had about 200 clicks per second and the e-mail address we had was spammed with requests to get more information. Most mails were from fans, worried about their hero, the rest was from various reporters, news channels, blah, blah, blah… Nobody had time to read them, Friday just made statistics. Tony appeared to be an easy baby. He could pretty much occupy himself, didn't cry a lot (but sure very loud if he did) and was always laughing, so we managed the rest of the weekend pretty well. The boys also bonded with the baby and even though he was probably the cutest thing we have had in the facility 'til that day, everyone wanted Tony back. With the weekend gone, Monday, just like always, came too fast.  
The team + SHIELD were occupied with the search for Loki or any possible way to turn Tony back, so I took the little guy with me to work. Seeing the looks of my employees when I walked in with the stroller was priceless. While the kiddo was still asleep I ran up to my apartment and got the big bean bag I had up there down to the office. He was still asleep, so I took down the keyboard (no, not the one belonging to the computer, the musical instrument one) as well. If nothing else, it'll just play pre recorded songs and he'll love all the buttons.  
While I was working on the papers, mostly for GNC, but some also came from Stark Industries because of the absence of their boss, baby Tony was trying to get out of the bean bag trap. Although he was not a happy camper about it at first, he figured it out in a short time. He quickly lost interest in the toys I brought, so I turned the keyboard on and set it on the ground. With the help of the best invention of mankind, the adhesive tape, I fixed the volume so that my ears wouldn't explode and let baby Tony push something else's buttons for a while. He started to laugh upon discovering that the keys emit various sounds upon pushing. I eventually managed to finish all of my work by lunch since baby Tony didn't leave the piano with the exception of feeding and diaper change. Sometimes he was chewing on the teething ring. It looks like he used to have a bigger attention span in his early days. Sitting down next to him I played a simple version of Twinkle Twinkle little Star, which caused him to look up with this bright smile of his. Some things just never change. This went on for another hour until he stopped laughing all of sudden.

Tony's POV

What the hell? Where am I? Why can't I talk and stand? And since when is Emily higher than me? Ok, so this is Emi's office, so we're at GNC. Is that a stroller? What…Why? This just doesn't make sense at all. Emily surely looks worried. Why does my mouth hurt so much?

Emily's POV

"Tony? What is it sweetheart?" I pick the baby up and inspect him closely. Something is different. Just what? "You know if you stopped wiggling around for a second it would be helpful." It was more of a statement than a request, but he actually calmed down. Maybe I should take a look in this little head of his. "Tony, I don't know why, but I have the feeling you are in there. Can I look inside your head?" The baby nodded. In an instant I saw all the memories and the mind of the adult Tony. This may be a good step.  
"Ok, now I know you're in there and confused. You are trapped in a body of a 6 month old baby-you. Bruce and Viz brought you back like that from Korea. Loki's job. They are trying to figure out a way to turn you back, but Loki ran off, so…" **(A.N.:** _ **Italic bold words will be Tony's thoughts**_ **)  
** _ **Why does my mouth hurt so much?**_

"You're teething, that's why. Chew on this, it should help." He took the ring from my hand, inspected it with disgust and put it on the ground with a 'there is no way I'm doing this look' that looked very adorable on the baby. I stood up and started packing up all of his stuff. Once I finished I lifted the little racked. "Come on, let's get you in the stroller."  
 _ **No, that is embarrassing, I'll go myself. No, put me down, come on.**_

"You won't win this one." I said as I strapped him in.  
"Hey Katie, I'm heading back to the compound, all is done, if anything, call me."  
"Ok, take care of that cutie. Oh, he's so adorable. Look like he's sticking his tongue out, that is so cute."  
 _ **I'm not adorable, I'm Tony Stark, I can be sexy, awesome, cool, badass, playboy, genius and got knows what else but I'm not adorable. What's wrong with all the females anyway? They see a baby and they go nuts. If I stick my tongue out at you, it means go to hell, not cute.  
**_ "He is, well we've got to go, or otherwise he'll get grumpy."  
We arrived at the compound an hour later, Tony was complaining about having to stare at the backseat the whole time, but at least he was comfy. He said that or thought actually. Unfortunately the guys couldn't come up with a solution either. So we're trapped like this until some sort of miracle happens, but we aren't giving up because we are the Avengers…

 **That's it for today; next up is Emily taking a trip to Wakanda and a little talk with a certain Asgardian. So stay tuned.**  
 **  
**


	36. From bad to worse

Chapter 36- From bad to worse

After two weeks of no improvement I was getting tired. Even though Tony had the mind of an adult, he still had the body and brain of a six month old. So basically on top of running two companies, which I had good help with, the IPA and doing some politics I also had to babysit. Not that the boys didn't want to help, Tony just wouldn't let them change his diapers. If anyone asks for explanation, it's really simple. Everything on him was baby sized. Everything. At least we found a way for him to communicate – a tablet with a text-to-speech app. The hunt for Loki also wasn't moving forward. That guy was just impossible to track down; he probably wasn't even on Earth anymore.  
With my birthday coming up in two and something weeks, the boys started to ask what I want. I told them the truth, I only want my Tony back. Maybe I should just wish upon a star or something, or get a genie. It was late evening already by the time I got back from work. The remaining Avengers have been assigned to other teams for the time being. Tonight they were on mission. Baby Tony fell asleep as soon as I put him in the crib. I made myself some tea and enjoyed the silence. Finally, this is just what I needed… What was that? Claws out I followed the noise. My findings were more of the weird than the dangerous find. A certain asgardian ruler with a scepter and a pointy helmet was hovering about my baby's crib. Wait my… never mind.  
"Step away and nobody's gonna get hurt!" I said half whispering and half yelling. The intruder turned his attention to me, lighting my face with scepter.  
"Who are you?"  
"Your worst nightmare if you don't do as I say." Pointing my claws in his direction probably caused him to lower the scepter. Or the glowing eyes perhaps?  
"I don't mean to do any harm, lady. I am Loki of Asgard."  
"Figured, I'm Emily from Earth. Now explain." I retracted the claws.  
"Emily, this was certainly not what I intended. I only meant to get the Avengers attention, I did not expect Stark to interfere with my actions."  
"Why?"  
"Because I like to mess with them, it's fun. This is no fun at all."  
"Can you change him back?"  
"No, I'm afraid I cannot." Ok, so should I kill him right away or give him a few more seconds of life?  
"You can't? Come on, there has to be a way. If it goes one way it should go the other way around as well."  
"There surely is, I know there is." Do not kill him, he may be helpful. He's messing with me.  
"And? How? What do you want in exchange for that?"  
"You are smart. Well there is this one thing…"  
"I have a better idea, how about you tell me everything and I don't kill you. Trust me, I'm not in the mood of arguing and negotiating. I haven't slept properly in two weeks, I'm pissed, moody and overworked, so either you tell me what you know or here's what will go down: First I kick your balls, then your ass, make a few cuts here and there and make you disappear so that no one will ever find your remains." He realized I wasn't joking, so he chose to speak instead of suffering a faith like that.  
"There is a spell that should be able to reverse it. I have to get back to Asgard and find someone who could do it."  
"Good, now we're talking. How about a drink?"  
"I would like that."  
We sat down in the living room and Loki started to spill everything he knew. His adoptive father is lost somewhere here on earth. There is a guy with the Time stone here as well, Dr. Strange. I wonder if it's this neurosurgeon with Tony's arrogant attitude I met some time ago. Probably. Even though trusting Loki seems like the most stupid idea ever, I don't have much of a choice right now.  
"My brother should be here on Midgard as well. He's searching for the remaining infinity stones."  
"So Earth is basically the biggest target for the big ugly purple smurf called Thanos? But he doesn't know that yet, does he?"  
"No, he doesn't. Wait, how do you know about him? Was my brother Thor here already? What is a smurf?"  
"Nope, I never met him. Thanos appears in my nightmares all the time. I don't know why, but he does. A smurf is, well they are small and blue and have white hats. They are not dangerous and they are not real." At least I think so. This world is only getting weirder.  
"Interesting. I believe you are not an ordinary human, are you? Humans don't have claws as far as I am aware."  
"No, they don't. I have a genetic mutation called the X-gene. Many people have it, I'm not alone. Also, I move objects with my mind and I can manipulate the elements if I want to. The x-gene in me probably went nuts, because it's not normal to have that many different mutations at once."  
"So, you are the more advanced species."  
"Maybe a new evolutionary step, it always seems like the more we think we know the less we actually know about it."  
Loki nodded caught deep in his own thoughts.  
"Well, I'm going to bed. If you want, there's a free guest room down the hall."  
"Thank you. I shall embark on my journey in the morning and then I'll come to take you to Asgard."  
"Thank you, Loki. Good night." I'm not normal; this guy almost destroyed the Earth… Maybe he changed… I am damn naïve.

The next morning Loki was nowhere to be found, but he left a note, on the lawn, saying he'll be back. Asgard doesn't use papers or what?  
I dressed Tony, summing up what went on at night, fed him and boarded the plane to Wakanda, where I was supposed to meet up with T'Challa to solve the Winter Soldier problem.

"Hi, your highness!" I yelled at T'Challa who was waiting for us near the landing spot.  
"Emily, nice to see you again. This is Tony?"  
"Right, that's him." Tony was buckled up in the stroller seat, not that he was very fond of it, but he stopped protesting after a few days as it would be of no use at all.  
"He looks so calm, but you look like you had a rough night. His fault?" T'Challa pointed at baby Tony who shot him a glare.  
"Not this time. Tonight I had a close encounter of the Asgardian kind, namely Loki."  
"You still up for it? Because I am not going to lie, you look horrible."  
"Thank you, let's just say I haven't really slept in two weeks and on top of everything that's going on, a certain general found himself a new hobby. He calls multiple times a day, or at night, at like 3AM and wants me to go after the rogue Avengers. He doesn't take no for answer. So, let's just finish it up, I have a day off today so, let's get it done so I can go back to sleep."  
We walked to the room Bucky was kept in.  
"I sent Captain Rogers out to town so you wouldn't be disturbed. He tends to spend long hours here. I can take this one up, I'm sure Clint would love to see a kid. Him, Thor and Natasha are upstairs."  
"Sure, he can communicate through the tablet. It's in the diaper bag. The bottle and all that stuff are there as well…"  
"Ok, mother, I think we'll manage."  
Tony didn't even protest, he probably wanted to see his old friends. Once they were gone I reached into Bucky's mind.

 **Third person's POV**

T'Challa steered the stroller to the room which Clint, Thor and Natasha occupied.  
"My friends you have a visitor."  
The trio turned to T'Challa. "Whose baby is this?"  
"My friend is here to fix Bucky's brain and she brought him with her. His name is Tony. I thought it might lift your spirits."  
"I does, he is certainly cute." said Clint picking the baby up. "Is it the same friend that sent the pictures?"  
"Yes, it is her. I can arrange a meeting if you'd like. Now I have to return to my duties, be careful he is said to be a handful."  
"Don't worry, we'll manage somehow."  
When T'Challa left the remaining occupants of the room came closer to the baby as well.  
Natasha inspected the baby from up close:  
"You know I can't get rid of the feeling like I know him."  
"And I thought it was just me."  
"He has eyes like friend Stark." The assassins looked closer. Thor was right. Were they dealing with Starks kid?  
"He does. We've been out of picture since May, I can't even remember when the last time we watched TV was."  
"From he looks about 6 months. He'd have to be born in August or September the latest. You think Pepper was pregnant?"  
"Stark never mentioned. He's laughing at us, look. How I miss my kids. They'll be all grown up by now." Baby Tony started to wiggle causing Clint to put him down. He crawled over to the stroller and pulled his tablet out of the basket. Natasha just shook her head in disbelief:  
"Definitely a Stark, he's just a baby and already playing with the latest tech."

" **That I am, Nat."**

The adults were shocked. "Tony? What the hell?"  
 **"The one and only."**

"How is that possible?"

" **Loki. You haven't watched the news lately?"  
** "Not really." Clint picked baby Tony up and all of them sat down on the couch.  
 **"Your kids miss you too, Barton. So does Laura."  
** "I know. So Loki did this?"  
 **"Yep. He says 'Hi' by the way. Stopped by last night, Em could tell you more once she's done."**

"Em? As in T'Challa's friend or your teenage daughter?"  
 **"What? I don't have a daughter. But if you're hinting on the girl Nat was talking to in Paris then yes, that's her. You seriously thought she was my daughter?"  
** "Well, Natasha said that."  
"Hey, how was I supposed to know, she looked 18 and she is a Stark."  
 **"She has good genes. But not mine, although that would be a great combination."  
** "Well, alright. So she's not your daughter. Friend?"  
 **"Sure, I've known her since the MIT, stuck with me through ups and downs. Best buddy."  
** Meanwhile Emily managed to get rid of the Winter Soldier Hydra hypnosis thingy and after yet another argument with Ross over the phone, she was walking to the rest of the crew with T'Challa.  
"I really thing you should take it to court, this isn't normal behavior."  
"Here I thought I was the only one who noticed Ross became a maniac. I'll just send a request to my legal department right away, maybe we'll be lucky and we'll get a court order. I swear if I have to tell him one more time he should read the rules again I'll find a way to strangle him over the phone."  
"That is a wise idea Emily."  
"The strangling part? Yeah, I like that too."  
"No, I meant the other, although it would probably be very amusing to watch. Here we are."  
T'Challa opened the door to where the group was situated. "My friends, this is Emily Stark, I told you about her. I have one more important call to make, so I'll leave you now." The king left.  
"Hi, I see you took good care of him."  
"Well, he is a handful, I don't envy you. I'm Clint. That's Nat and Thor."  
"I know, there was a time Tony wouldn't shut up about you all."  
"In good I hope. So, you're my wife's boss then. How is she?"  
"Yeah, she does fine, as good she can be. They miss you a lot."  
"I miss them too. How about the kids?"  
"Cooper and Nathaniel are two bundles of energy, but really sweet boys and Lila is surely going to be like you. She inherited your archery talent." Clint paled, his little girl with a bow and arrow was just a scary thought. Natasha was grinning and Thor was having a staring contest with baby Tony.  
"Don't worry; she has yet to grow up."  
"What part shouldn't I be worried about?"  
Natasha thought it would be better to change the subject.  
"So you run a company?"  
"Yes, GlobalNet Corporation and right now Stark Industries as well."  
"Sounds interesting."  
"Nah, it's mostly boring. IPA is a lot more interesting, trust me."  
"You run the IPA?"  
"Yeah, that I do as well as some work in politics and in the UN senate."  
"Sounds like a lot. You came to arrest them?"  
"What? No. If I wanted to do that we wouldn't be having this conversation now."  
"Good, I just wanted to make sure. What else is new? How is the team?"  
"They're good, doing the best they can. They work with other teams right now as reinforcements. Bruce is working with the scientists on a cure for some disease I can't remember the name of; Rhodey is still in the army, part-time. Vision is learning more about humans every day, he helps out in Shield or in the labs. Occasionally, like at least once a week a Hulk can be seen running around the compound, trying to catch a Frisbee, aka Captain Americas old shield. Spiderman comes to hang out and train once in a while. What else… Right, Pepper got married last August, she and Happy are finishing the adoption process right now. They got themselves a baby boy named Ryan. The Expo is up and running and that's basically it."  
"I wonder what Cap would say about his shield being Hulks Frisbee. I don't think he'll get it back."  
Thor finally let the staring contest be and joined the conversation:  
"Friend Stark told me with the magic voice box you had an encounter with my brother Loki."  
"Yes, I did. By the way do you use paper on Asgard?"  
"Yes, we do. Why?"  
"Just wondering why he left a note on the lawn instead of a paper when he was leaving this morning. I'll make sure to get back at him for it later."  
"You think he will come to see you again."  
"For his own sake he should. I told him if he doesn't get this whole mess back to normal there would be no realm far enough for him to hide and the note said 'I shall return!' very clearly. Want to see a picture of it? Here take a look."  
"Where did he go?"  
"Back to Asgard, he had to find someone to turn Tony back to himself, or at least age him to adulthood." Baby Tony crawled towards Emily. She picked the boy up and cuddled with him for a while. The rest of the group observed the scene. It was as if Tony sensed Emily's exhaustion and pain. He was also tired. The little body couldn't store that much energy causing him to fall asleep pretty fast. He laid his head on Em's shoulder.  
 **You know you are uncomfortable as a pillow.  
** "I know, Tony, I know that."  
"What do you know?" Natasha looked at her curiously.  
"He just said, or thought, that I was an uncomfortable pillow."  
"You can read minds?"  
"Yes, it's a part of what I can do."  
Emily placed Tony into the stroller. He nodded off right away, but she kept watching him for a few moments more.  
"You care about him, don't you? And he cares about you. You must be good friends then."  
"We're best buddies, actually. It's good to see that Tony wasn't exaggerating when he called you two master spies. You figured it out really quickly."  
"It was pretty obvious when he gave you a hug. He has his adult brain; no way would he have done that if he hadn't cared. The fact that you babysit him is proof enough that it's a shared bond."  
"To be honest, the only thing I want right now is to hear his voice again. As much as I would love to stay longer, I really have to go back. It's dark outside here already and I still have to fly home. Don't worry guys; we are doing the best we can so you'll be able to go home and honestly, no one besides Ross wants you behind bars."  
"Wait, give me a second, I'm coming with you. You look like you could use some help and I was Starks assistant for a while."  
"Right, he called you Natashalie or something like that. Thank you."  
"No problem, besides I'm curious about the guys, my nephews and niece."  
After saying farewell to T'Challa, Thor and Clint, Emily fastened baby Tony into the car seat attached to one of the seats in the Phoenix jet. The geniuses of GNC put their heads together and found a safe and secure way of attaching a car seat to a plane seat, by designing a different kind of seat. Natasha left a message for Cap and, after saying goodbye to the men, boarded the jet with Emily.

Emily's POV

When we landed my team was already waiting. The reunion was interrupted by Loki, who was luring in the shadows the whole time. Boys, having gotten the heads up on not killing Loki right away, chose to continue the talking with Tasha inside.  
"Alright, we've got to go. We don't have much time left."  
"Just let me get my suit, ok. Maybe the guys could come with us for each case."  
"I can transport maximum 3 people, not more. So get dressed and take something for the idiot and let's go." Wow, Loki is an impatient one. I got into my suit, took something for the big Tony and then took the baby Tony in my arms. Loki teleported us to Asgard. It was huge, beautiful, the palace was really giant and even Tony's mouth was hanging wide open. I really want to come back here for holiday. But there was something that just seemed odd.  
Loki led us through the empty streets of the city (or whatever it is called there) to the palace. Where were all the people? Is that the reason Loki was so impatient?  
"Heimdall!" Loki screamed tearing me from my thoughts.  
"Yes." A guy with a pointy helmet came from behind the corner.  
"How much longer?"  
" Soon. I see you brought her back." Back? I don't remember being here in the first place.  
"Yes, I did. We need to change him back right now or she'll kill me."  
"Of course, follow me." I shot Loki a questioning look.  
"He's the guardian of Bifrost. It is a bridge that connects realms. You don't need to know more." Yeah, whatever.  
I followed the duo to the basement of the palace which led to some big cave system. There an old man was waiting for us in a large cave hall, which included a really weird lake. The man, who reminded me of Dumbledore from Harry Potter (the one from the books), stared at me for a moment, then he spoke:  
"Welcome, your highness. I am here to help resolve the misguided spell, but I am afraid I cannot age your friend back to the point where he was before he was hit. My knowledge allows me only to make jumps of 35 of your Midgardian years. I can of course make him older, and then we could try do de-age him, but…"  
"Thank you, I think 35 will be good enough. I don't really want to experiment on him more and he also doesn't seem to mind. Just one question, how come the scar he had is still on his chest, shouldn't it have disappeared or something?"  
"The mind remains untouched as well as scars that remind one of important things in his life. We shall now proceed, your highness, we don't have a lot of time left. Please, place him here in the lake." I did as I was told. Ad why on Earth or Asgard does he call me your highness?  
The Dumbledore of Asgard shot a red light beam on baby Tony and soon enough an adult Tony was sitting on the floor where the baby used to be. Still with the pacifier in his mouth, I might add. This pic is so going to the gallery. Tony got into his adult clothes while Loki was still grinning from the view of Tony in a diaper with a paci. Heimdall and Dumbledore already left as their job was finished.  
A loud noise made an end to Loki's laughter: "Damn, he's here."  
"Who?" Finally I was going to get an answer.  
"Thanos. Heimdall foresaw the attack and told everyone to get out, the army remained, they are guarding the palace. This cave is on the edge, I doubt they would go this way…"  
"Ahm, Reindeer Games I think you got that part wrong, we are trapped." Tony said pointing to the exit. 


	37. Every soul will taste death

Chapter 37- Every soul will taste death

 _A loud noise made an end to Loki's laughter: "Damn, he's here."  
"Who?" Finally I was going to get an answer.  
"Thanos. Heimdall foresaw the attack and told everyone to get out, the army remained, they are guarding the palace. This cave is on the edge, I doubt they would go this way…"  
"Ahm, Reindeer Games I think you got that part wrong, we are trapped." Tony said pointing to the exit.  
_The army mixed from Chitauri and some other scary looking aliens encircled us. We had no way to get out. "It might be best to surrender boys. We can't punch our way out of this, definitely not here."  
"One time I don't take a suit, just one and we are already neck deep in shit. I'm blaming you Rock of Ages."  
"It doesn't help you much right now, does it crybaby?" Tony looked like he would jump on Loki and choke him any second.  
"Calm the hell down you two, you can only make them attack us. They haven't yet so don't change it."

The army arrested us and led us out. My original plan to run off as soon as we leave the cave failed. There were about 5 rows of heavily armed aliens from each side, so we just kept marching. They led us on top of a mountain on the edge of the realm. A smaller group parted from the rest and we moved on the floating rocks. The rest was making sure we wouldn't consider running away. I couldn't see anything besides darkness beneath us, like a never ending pit. My gut told there was no way all of us would get out of here unharmed. But most of us could…  
We finally reached the largest rock on which a big stone throne was built. The lead guard blabbered something in alien that we didn't understand. Well, Tony and I didn't, not sure about Loki, who somehow managed to hide his scepter from the aliens. The big boss growled somehow and the army earlier guarding the other end of the bridge returned to with some escorts of ours to the battle leaving us with about 10 guards. They took position behind us as if waiting for something. I used the time to inspect the surrounding. Some of the rocks were large enough to use as a shield in case they start shooting on us. Few moments of silence later the boss descended his throne. It was the big ugly purple smurf from my nightmares, Thanos. Alright, now we are really screwed. On his left hand there was a golden glove with two shiny stones attached. One was red, the other purple.  
"Look at this, how long do you think your army can last? They will fall and so will you. Asgard will be mine as will the Tesseract. Hand him over now." If I manage to get out of here, this is going to make a great footage, if…  
Loki didn't take long to respond. "What do you offer for it?"  
"Sparing your life. That is my offer. We will find it anyway, sooner or later. Where is it? And where is the guardian of Bifrost?"  
"How about you give me a high position in your new world order and I will give you the information you seek?"  
Thanos started laughing darkly. The kind of laugh that makes you shiver in a very unpleasant way. I used it to have a quick exchange with the guys.  
"Listen, I'll distract him and you Loki bring Tony back to Earth. So on my signal, run like hell."  
"What, there's no way we're leaving you here. Just no."  
"Tony, this is not the time, I love you, always will, but you have to go. You can return to me later, but someone has to get out and warn the others. Loki, you're up to it, because I'm sure he won't give you a place in his world." Loki nodded and turned back at Thanos who was finishing his laughing. Tony added his own thoughts: "So, purples, if I get it right. You want him to give you the blue cube of doom to kill us in the end anyway. Only an idiot would do that. This one may be crazy, a psychopath, sociopath maybe, but he's no idiot. But you sure are." That unsurprisingly pissed Thanos off.  
"What did you dare to call me you tiny human?"  
"Purples, idiot. Pick one."  
Thanos launched himself at us. I used a telekinetic wave to get rid of the guards behind us and created a spherical shield big enough for the guys to get further away safely. "Run now. Go and don't look back. Go!" Loki grabbed Tony and pulled away from me. I know he didn't want to let go, but some things have to be done. Turning my attention back to Thanos I saw him backing away from the field I knew I couldn't keep up long enough to save myself. I was too tired and too weak for that Thanos aimed his glow at me and prepared to fire. I looked behind me and saw Loki opening a portal, just a few more minutes. The moment I saw the portal close I knew this was my own battle now. I'm a phoenix; I only die to be reborn again, on Earth, but what happens when I die here? Are this my final moments? Is this what looking into the eyes of death really feels like? As Thanos fired energy beams from the two infinity stones, a single tear rolled down my cheek. The field was broken; parts of my body were burned, exposing my metal bones. This seemed to amuse Thanos.  
"They left you here to die."  
"Because I told them to." I felt my healing factor kick in.  
"Where is the Tesseract?"  
"I don't know."  
"You don't know, huh. Maybe I could help you with your memory. The metal in your body is interesting. It is poison, killing you. I wonder what would happen if someone took it out." Oh, no.  
Thanos raised his glowed hand and lifted me in the air. I felt the pressure building up inside me. Slowly and painfully the metal that was so long a part of me was leaving my body ripping every single inch of my skin apart. In short he had my entire skeleton in his hand. Well, almost. "I left you a little souvenir. The last bits left will kill you slowly and painfully…." I didn't hear the rest, for me everything went black. The last thing I remember was hitting the ground and then I was at peace…

 **Third persons' POV  
** **Meanwhile at the base**

A portal opening in front of the base caught everyone's attention. The Avengers + Fury ran out, armed from top to toe, ready to defend the HQ. A few seconds later, Loki dragging Tony came through, or rather fell flat on their faces from it. The portal closed allowing Tony and Loki to have one last look on their savior. "You have to get her, or she'll die there! Loki, please!"  
"Stark listen, I will go back for her, but right now I can't, the scepter has to regain energy in order to open another portal."  
"How long?"  
"One earth hour."  
"Wait, so you knew we'd have to leave her there for another hour, one her own?!"  
"She knew as well, I told her about it." Tony stared desperately at Loki. The rest of the gang who was watching the whole thing put their guns down.  
"Alright, ok, so she knew the risk, but she'll be ok, I mean she had to have it figured out, right? She's probably hiding somewhere."  
"Yes, she is a strong creature and a great warrior. I will bring her back as soon as I can. I owe her my life. Thanos would have killed us if she hadn't interfered. She gave us time to escape."  
"We should warn Thor not to go to Asgard or he will fall right into a trap."  
"Yes, my brother. Can you contact him?"  
Before Tony could answer Fury stepped in. "Follow me, Loki."  
The Avengers ran up to Tony. "Buddy, it's good to see you again as an adult, well more or less, but what the hell happened there." said Rhodey, inspecting Tony's newfound youth.  
"Long story short, we got trapped by an alien army inside a cave, we got led to their leader which turned out to be Thanos, the big ugly purple smurf from Em's nightmares. Emily told Loki to get me out of there, to warn everyone and she bought us enough time to escape, but… I'm really afraid she won't make it. I just have this really bad feeling."  
The crew moved into the meeting room, while Fury was trying to explain videoconferencing to Loki. "So, you look into the camera and you speak. Thor will see you and hear you on the other side."  
"Interesting. What kind of magic does it work on again?"  
"Electricity, satellite signal, the internet…"  
"What is a satellite?"  
"It is a big metal thing that circles around the planet. I'll make someone explain it to you later. Now talk to Thor." On the other side of the planet, T'Challa and the gang were faced with a similar problem. The videoconference started with two Asgardians yelling at each other.  
"Brother, can you hear me? I will get you out of the glass prison." Thor started to swing his hammer towards the screen to be stopped by T'Challa, who was not pleased at the thought of having to get a new screen.  
"I am not imprisoned, Thor. Listen, don't travel to Asgard. It is far too dangerous. Thanos and his army attacked us and they would kill you as soon as you appeared."  
"How am I supposed to trust you on this? It may only be another one of your ways to keep me from interfering with your plans. Wait until father hears about your plans…"  
"Are you really that stupid? Why would I be calling you if it wasn't the truth, why would I even bother?" Tony barged into the room fully suited up.  
"Is it time yet?"  
"What Stark, no. You are not coming."  
"I am, she means the world to me."  
"No, you are staying, I promised to get you back here, not take you there again. I will be going, it will be faster." Tony wanted to object, but was interrupted by Thor.  
"Friend Stark, it is good to see you."  
"Likewise Thor, Loki gave you the warning already."  
"He did say Thanos was attacking Asgard. I do not believe him."  
"Well he is actually telling the truth, Point Break, we just got back from there."  
"You were in Asgard Stark? Right, Loki had to change you back. How is your friend, Emily, I think?" Tony paled and leaned against the closest wall; the thought of Emily alone on the rock with Thanos was terrifying. Fortunately there was still Loki in the room.  
"She went with us and she gave us time to escape. I will go back to get her in a short time, I hope I am not too late."  
"So you know what is going on and are still returning to Asgard for her? You truly changed brother."  
"Just stay away from there." Loki looked to see that the scepter was fully charged. "Farewell, brother." He said to Thor and left the room. Tony was still leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.  
Loki exited the portal in the Asgardian prison as it was on located on the edge. Using his sorcery he camouflaged himself as one of the aliens and began his journey to the throne. Thanos had obviously relocated to the palace as he was not present and neither were his guards. The battlefield was empty, with the exception of a big bloody puddle and a metal cluster. This was not from Asgard. Loki remembered Emily pointing at him with her claws. Could it be that this was the only thing left? Where was rest of the body? He looked around. Thanos could have easily kicked it from the cliff and if he did, there was no way to find her. Given the burn marks on the ground, he could have just turned her to dust. Or had he done something else? Thanos was probably searching the palace for the Tesseract, which was in a hidden chamber inside Odin's vault. With much disgust Loki picked the cluster up and opened the portal. This should be proof enough for Stark…

Meanwhile back at the facility, Tony has been sedated for no one could endure the freaked out hyperactive billionaire. Not even him. With Tony passed out, the team was eagerly awaiting the return of Loki and Emily. But only one returned through the portal. The Avengers stared in horror as Loki placed the cluster at their feet and shook his head. Rhodeys eyes were in tears. Bruce's and even Fury's eyes (eye) were far from dry as well. Vision was playing Ave Maria on the piano. When everyone calmed down, Rhodey broke the silence. "How are we going to tell this to Tony?"  
"I have no idea." said Bruce looking over to Vision and Natasha.  
"Emily was an outstanding person. Tony won't want to let her go, he will want revenge."  
"You are right, Vision, he will want revenge. I don't think he'll ever let her go, we may only hope he won't lose the will to live." Rhodey's statement peeked Nat's attention.  
"You think it will be that bad? I know they were best friends, but isn't loosing the will to live a bit too much."

"Well, you don't know the whole truth, Nat. He loved her, she meant the world to him and it was both sided. She loved him; they were like siblings, best friends, two sides of the coin. They were complete opposites and yet the same. When I first met Em it was at the MIT. Let's just say for a fact we didn't like her, she wasn't one of those hot chicks that would come running towards Tony. She was weird to us. Anyway, she and Tony got paired up for a project and eventually after being snowed in for an entire night, they grew to like each other."  
"Did he ever tell her? That he loved her I mean?"  
"Sure, and she loved him back."  
When a sleepy and a bit high Tony walked into room, everyone fell silent.  
"Are they back yet?" he asked as he sat down on the chair. Loki walked up to him.  
"I am sorry Stark, but I believe I was too late. This is what I found along with a large puddle of blood." Tony stared at the bloody metal.  
"Friday, is this what I think it is?"  
"It is adamantium vibranium alloy, boss." Tony nodded. His nightmare became reality. He just stared into the ground. "Run a DNA test on the blood. It can't be true, this just can't be right." He shouted storming out of the room, leaving the others staring.

 **Somewhere in a realm far far away…**

"What the hell, where am I?..." 


	38. Hold on, pain ends

**Hey, guys! It's been some time since the last update, sorry for keeping you waiting, but I had a lot of stuff for school to do. Well anyway, if anyone thought this was over, then no, the fight just started. Yes, the last line indeed belonged to Emily. The note here below is important, please read to avoid confusion:**

 _ **The last line in the previous chapter took two earth days later, but only about 12 asgardian hours later. My mind somehow came up with this relativistic theory about time going slower in Asgard than on earth, which makes Thor and Loki look young despite being hundreds of years old.**_

Chapter 38- Hold on, pain ends

Emily lifted her head from the ground, or the puddle of her own blood to be precise. Pushing herself upright she sat and inspected her surroundings. Thanos must have left her to rot as a welcome back present for Loki. The room was big with golden walls and filled all kinds of objects of various size and form. Some of them were weapons, war trophies, treasures. Taking some time to put two and two together, Em came to the conclusion she was inside Odin's vault. Now all that was left to do was find a way out.  
Meanwhile back on Earth, the Avengers were trying to get Tony out of his workshop. They had yet to be successful. "Tony come on, you haven't left this place for two days. You have to eat something."  
"I'm not hungry." Rhodey rolled his eyes, the same all over again.  
"You haven't eaten anything since you got back. Tony, we all miss her, but this isn't going to bring her back."  
"No, it isn't."  
"Then why are you doing this to yourself?" Tony didn't answer. Deep inside he knew Rhodey was right and that if Emily saw him, she'd instantly kick his ass.  
"Listen, she's gone and we can't change that, but there is one thing we can do. We can end what she started. Where did all these papers come from?"  
"I had them sent from SI and GNC. I'm working on them, so that when she comes back, she won't have to…"  
"Tony stop, ok. She isn't, you know she isn't. We have to change her status."  
"I did that already, called the guys."  
"Yes, you changed it to missed in action, but she's dead."  
"No, she isn't until I've seen her body."  
"Alright, I give up. You are a stubborn idiot. We'll be upstairs if his brilliance makes up his mind and decides to join us for dinner." Rhodey stormed up the stairs, leaving Tony to tinker with his car.  
"He's not coming, is he?" asked Bruce setting plates on the table. Rhodey shook his head.  
"Not a chance. He still insists she's alive."  
"So he's still in denial."  
"Yep, still as stubborn as… well there's no one more stubborn than him right now."  
"You know what bothers me? What if he's right?"  
"No, not you too. Vision, help me out here."  
"Dr. Banner has a point. Given her genetics and abilities, she could have survived."  
"But you saw what Loki brought back. If that was inside her body, it must have done some damage while getting out."  
"Yes, that is true. Which is why the chance is very small and even Mr. Stark knows it. Maybe we should grant him the benefit of doubt. Let's leave it to him to call the wedding off. When he does, it means he accepted what happened and is ready to deal with it."  
"How much time do you propose we give him?"  
"Given there are only two weeks and two days left, till the end of next week should be enough."  
"Alright, now how do we get him to eat?"  
"He will come around." Bruce and Rhodey nodded and sat down. Tony was staring at the wall of his workshop. Using the exit leading to the garage he got out of the compound. Walking around in the cover of the night he stopped on the hill above the compound. The workers have almost finished turning the old warehouse into a modern mansion. The furniture was all that was missing. Tony entered the building. It could have been a home for all of them. The big living room connected with the kitchen and dining room could have been filled with laughter and chatting. Could have been… He saw them having lunch together, fighting over a movie to watch then heading upstairs for the night. For every one of them, including Tasha and Peter, their own room had been designed with a connected bathroom and a balcony. He and Emily were supposed to have the upper floor, which held a master bedroom, one bathroom, an office and two other rooms as well as a big terrace with grass covering the rest of the roof. It isn't like Tony didn't like the old facility; it just held too many memories of people whose actions he wanted to forget. From the terrace he could see them having dinner. Not sharply, they were too far for that, but he was able to make out those figures. Rhodey, Bruce, Vision and Natasha. They were all he had left now. Tony turned around and headed for his car. He had to get out of here.  
The Avengers were not aware of being watched. For them this evening ritual turned into a way to deal with the loss of their friend and leader. Natasha, mostly unaware of the bonds that formed in the past months tried to lift the mood of her friends. She mostly succeeded with the boys, but Stark was too tough to even talk to. Well, they could talk to him as much as they'd like, but the normally hyper verbal billionaire resigned to answering questions as shortly as possible. Getting him to leave the workshop was equally impossible.  
"How long have they known each other?"  
"Who? Em and Tony? 30 years give or take." Rhodey looked up at Tasha.  
"Wow, now I get why it gets to him that much."  
"Yes, one of the reasons."  
"What are the others?"  
"They were should have gotten married in two weeks."  
"Oh, poor Tony. We have to do something or this won't end well."  
"We know, but no matter what we do, we always fail."  
Tony parked beneath the Stark Tower. He entered the living room, threw the car keys on the couch and turned on the music from Emily's MP3 player. The song that came up was speaking right from his heart. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey and stepped out.  
 _I was the one who had it all_

 _I was the master of my fate_  
Just like Yinsen said. He had everything and nothing. _  
I never needed anybody in my life  
I learned the truth too late_

He never let anyone too close. Pepper, Rhodey, Bruce, Vision, the Avengers, none of them did he let to get entirely under his skin. He was afraid to be betrayed again, which eventually happened. Steve chose to defend Bucky, the guy who murdered his parents. Then he left him in Siberia with no power in a damaged suit and took his friend with him. Emily's team got him out of there. Since then Emily, Rhodey, Viz and Bruce had become his true family. They were the only people he knew he could trust. And then there was Natasha of whom he still wasn't sure.

 _I'll never shake away the pain_

No, he'll never forget the people who hurt him. He'll never forget how it felt to lose his parents all over again. He'll never forget when he saw the bloody metal rock and Loki telling him he was sorry. _  
I close my eyes but she's still there_

So is the last look they shared before Loki dragged him to the portal. She was watching them to make sure they'd be safe, telling him she loved him in that final look before the portal closed. She was his world, the only person he let to see him vulnerable. _I let her steal into my melancholy heart  
It's more than I can bear  
_He knew Rhodey was right, there would come a time he would have to accept, but right now he couldn't bear that. Leaning against the railing he watched the sun set above New York and for the first time since his return from Asgard he let his tears fall. Even when she was gone, her memory would remain with him till his end. _  
Now I know she'll never leave me  
Even as she runs away  
She will still torment me  
Calm me, hurt me  
Move me, come what may  
Wasting in my lonely tower  
Waiting by an open door  
I'll fool myself, she'll walk right in  
And be with me for evermore  
_He considered jumping, knowing this time there would be no one there to catch him. But what if she survived? His gut was telling him she did. He also knew she died, he felt it the moment it happened. It felt like his heart stopped. When Loki was calling Thor, it wasn't just fear that made him lean against that wall, he knew the moment it happened she was dead. It's not like anyone would believe if he told them. _  
I rage against the trials of love  
I curse the fading of the light  
Though she's already flown so far beyond my reach  
She's never out of sight  
_The bottle of whiskey was half empty now. The sky was getting darker every second. "I'll do my best to finish what you started, Emily. Wherever you are, come back to me, I can't lose you for good." He knew no matter where he'd run; there would still be something to remind him of her, she would never be entirely gone. _  
Now I know she'll never leave me  
Even as she fades from view  
She will still inspire me  
Be a part of everything I do  
Wasting in my lonely tower  
Waiting by an open door  
I'll fool myself, she'll walk right in  
And as the long, long nights begin  
I'll think of all that might have been  
Waiting here for evermore_

"For evermore." Tony glanced back at the door, hoping she would just walk in and scold him for getting drunk again. Not this time. Another day without her was over.

 **Back to Odin's vault**

Emily's POV

Finally I gathered enough energy to be able to stand up without falling on my butt again. My hair was down and since I didn't bother to cut it for about a decade, only used my powers to make it look shorter; it was now soaked in my own blood which made it really heavy and disgusting. The hair ended just below my knees. Catching my reflection on one of the objects I noticed how bad I really looked. My uniform was torn on too many places to be counted. There were cuts and bruised on my body I could tell weren't healing at the moment. My face was relatively untouched with the exception of a big cut over my eye. The other side of my face was decorated with my well known blue ornament. None of my powers were working at the moment, which left me with two things. Wonder what I'm left with and stare at the person in the mirror. This wasn't the same one I saw every other day, this one had dark red hair and freckles. The blue streak in the hair was like a contrast between ice and fire. I knew I had to get out here, but inspecting the room properly was cut short by footsteps making me return to the puddle and play dead. The door opened, but it wasn't one of Thanos guards.

 **Back to Earth  
3** **rd** **person's POV**

"I need you to escort Loki to Wakanda. It will only do you good to get out of the facility." Fury said as he approached the Avengers minus Tony.  
"You think you can talk Tony into leaving his workshop. Good luck with that." said Rhodey with a hint of sarcasm.  
"I am not going to. Making Stark face Rogers would do more harm than good. You will be going and I'll deal with Stark. That's an order, not a request. You'll leave in an hour."  
"Just make sure he doesn't do something stupid again."  
Rhodey and Bruce ran down to the workshop where Tony was working on yet another Iron Man suit. "Tony, we're leaving for Wakanda." said Bruce, trying to get his attention.  
"I know. Have a good flight."  
"Really? That's all you're going to say?" Rhodey was growing more and more worried about him as the days went by.  
"Yeah."  
"Fury is going to keep an eye on you while we're gone."  
"I'm an adult, I can take care of myself."  
"Then do it. You haven't eaten anything, you've started drinking again. Tony, this has to stop. We're going now and we better find you alive when we get back."  
Tony nodded to his friends, but didn't lift his head from the armor. Some time after they left, a group of people came down. "Hey, Stark! Get of your ass and come with us." It was John from GNCs and IPAs flagship team, the Wolf pack 1.  
"What do you want?"  
"We just though a change of climate would be good for you."  
"I do go out when I want to."  
"No and the trip to the tower where you got totally wasted doesn't count."  
"How do you…"  
"Know about it? Stark, we're the best of the best. We know everything. Now come on, either you go on your own or we make you. In the end you'll go anyway."  
"Alright, I'll finish this circuit up and we can go. I know you'd win anyway."  
"Nice to see you're still right in your mind."  
Fury was observing the scene from the stairs. At least he wouldn't have to deal with this one. Once Tony finished the group left the compound.  
"Be honest with me, why did you really come?" This time Jack was the one to answer.  
"We're fulfilling a promise we made a long time ago. And let's be honest, buddy, since you've got your Avengers, we never really see you around. I mean come on, we trained you and you don't even come around to hang out with us."  
"Sorry about that, I've been busy. What promise?"  
"One we gave to Em. In case anything happened to her, we would get you out at least once in a while to get you back on track. We miss her too, she wasn't just a leader, we were a family that is now missing a member. Now it's your turn to be honest. Do you think she's still alive?"  
"Yes, I still hope. The guys are telling me to let it go, but I just can't. I know she died, I somehow felt it, but I don't think she stayed dead. You must think I'm crazy."  
"We do, but not because of that. Sometimes it's good to hold on to something and we all know she's tough. We hope for her return as well, but we must prepare for the worst case scenario."  
"So, where are we going?"  
"Washington. Sightseeing."  
"Seriously?"  
"Yeah and afterwards we'll go for a flight. Just so, because we can."  
After a few hours spent in D.C. the team of males and females decided on a lunch spot.  
"So, T, decided on your order yet? They make really great pizza here."  
"I'm not hungry."  
"If you didn't look like a skeleton coated in skin we might believe you. Pick something."  
"No, really. I don't want to." Jenny smirked at his answer.  
"If you say so, but do you realize that once Em comes back and we all believe she will, and sees you like this, there won't be any happy long reunion but a looong talk about eating properly. Not to mention if we need to defend the Earth and you won't be strong enough and possibly faint during the mission. Do you know how much trouble and unnecessary papers that would cause?"  
"No, I don't."  
"See that statue. That many." Tony looked at the ten feet statue. The other arguments given were logical, there was no counterargument he could come up with. He decided to give in. The smell of pizza was also considered a strong and valid argument.  
"Alright, I'll take this one."  
"Good choice." The team grinned. WP1 scored again, no one could overcome their skills in manipulating people, not even the great Tony Stark. No wonder they were the lead. The car ride back was not as silent as the ride to DC. Tony still wasn't back to being the most talkative one but he wasn't as quiet as he was before.  
"You know, you guys are exceptional at manipulating people."  
"It was only for your own good."  
"Thanks, I guess I needed someone to talk some sense into me. Rhodey tried, but you had better arguments."  
"Well, we're the best."

"Wanna know the worst part of today's trip?"  
"What is it you didn't like?"  
"The date."  
"Yeah, well she'd be happy you got out of that cave of yours."  
The group boarded one of the jets and took off for a flight. Meanwhile the Avengers landed in Wakanda.  
" Welcome to Wakanda."  
"Thank you, your highness."  
"I am really sorry for your loss. Emily was an outstanding person."  
"She was. This is Bruce, you already met Vision and that one is Loki."  
"Tony won't be joining us today, then."  
"No, I'll go check in with Fury to see if they are both still alive."  
"Do that, Colonel. The others can follow me inside."  
Rhodey picked up the phone and Fury answered immediately.  
"Hey, we just landed. How are things?"  
"Good, haven't seen Stark since the morning. He's been kidnapped by one of IPA's teams, WP1."  
"So he's not at the compound? Where is he then?"  
"No idea. If it makes you worry less, they managed to stuff him with pizza.  
Leave this to me and enjoy the time off. You need a change of climate. Fury out."  
Rhodey walked into the room where the guys were. Bruce and Viz immediately turned their attention towards him. "So?"  
"Fury said he was kidnapped by WP1 and he hasn't seen him since the morning. Good news is that he ate. Those guys are really good."  
"Well, that is good to hear."  
After saying their hello's and Loki and Thor leaving for a chat, Falcon popped a question of his interest. "So, is this IPA's dress code or why are you all in black?"  
"No dress code, our leader just died few days ago."  
"Oh, sorry about that. Was he at least a good one?"  
"She was more of a friend than a boss, but man could she kick ass. Unfortunately she came across an enemy she couldn't defeat. Thor and Loki could tell you more."  
Realization dawned on Clint. "Wait a minute. Emily is dead?"  
"Yes, we think so. We don't have her body, but we don't think she survived. Well, Tony does and he won't let her go. I know there is a chance she is still alive, even if, she's stuck in Asgard. She was my friend for a long time and…" Rhodey's voice broke, as did Bruce's and Vision's heart. Natasha took the word.  
"They were close, it hit Stark the hardest, he won't come out of his workshop or eat, he just gets drunk. She died saving him and Loki. What surprises me is that Stark doesn't blame Loki at all."  
"Blaming people requires talking, Nat, and he barely did that in the last few days."  
"True, Rhodes. What changed here while I was gone?"  
"Not much, we are still searching without any progress." said Cap leaning back against the wall. This peaked Bruce's interest. "What are you searching for?"  
"Infinity stones. 4 of them in a diadem."  
"Need help?"  
"If you're interested."  
"Sure, it will be distracting. Just what we need right now. Show us what you got."  
Steve began talking about everything they found in the past months. The whole team listened carefully, memorizing every detail they could and putting together some links.  
"So to sum it up: we're looking for an asgardian crown with 4 stones we don't know a thing about not even how they look like. They were given to a royal family on the old continent, which we conclude is Europe. They were originally guarded by the princess herself, but given it was over 100 years ago, it's almost impossible to find it. And you already ruled out England, Spain, Monaco, Denmark and Sweden."  
"Yes, that's it. Thor is more interested in the girl, though."  
"Alright, we could try something. Tony could know, he was always interested in weird stuff and if we give it to the IPA, those guys can find anything and anyone." Steve didn't like the thought of having the IPA involved at all. "We should handle it on our own for now. No other parties involved." The boys nodded. It was of no use to argue with cap.

Somewhere over the ocean the WP1 along with Tony were making crazy stunts with the jet when they got a call from the tower.  
"Shadow 1, here's the NY Tower speaking. You are to return to the base immediately. Over."  
"Tower, Shadow 1 here. Is there an emergency? Over."

"Shadow 1, Tower here. Negative, please return to base asap. Over."

"Tower, Shadow 1 here. We will be there in 5. Over."

The group looked at each other as Jack proceeded to turn the jet around on a course for the base. "You think we're in trouble for just taking a jet and flying around?" asked Jenny.  
"Would be a first time. We do it all the time." answered John who had also been caught off guard by the order. "Perhaps the other teams just need to use more jets." The others nodded, it would be possible.  
Once they landed, they parked the jet and one by one proceeded to the exit. Until John stopped blocking the stairs. "Guys, I am either hallucinating or we really need to put the flags back in place."  
"No you aren't I see it too."  
"What do you see?" The guys proceeded down and made a corridor for Tony. It was then he saw what they meant. A beautiful redhead surrounded by people whom she meant a lot to.  
"Emily?" 

**That's it for today. The song used above is called Evermore from Beauty and the Beast, which I saw in the cinema a few weeks back. I imagined Josh Groban's version but that's up to you. Again I own nothing.  
As for future chapters: the next one will tie in where this one ended, then we'll have the bachelor party and hen night, the wedding and the UN trial. Thank you everyone who's still reading this!**


	39. Coming home

Chapter 39 – Coming home

"What do you see?" The guys proceeded down and made a corridor for Tony. It was then he saw what they meant. A beautiful redhead surrounded by people whom she meant a lot to.  
"Emily?" asked Jack, as Tony was still standing in the middle of the staircase with his mouth hanging open. "Is that really you or are we just dreaming?"  
"If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up. I thought I'd never see you guys again." Emily had tears in the eyes. It was then when Tony slowly started to approach her, carefully reaching out with his hand. He was afraid it was just an illusion. Em just stood there, not knowing what to do. She wanted to hug him, hold him, but she was afraid everything would disappear, that it was really just a dream. The rest of GlobalNets crew was patiently watching and waiting on the outcome of the situation. When Tony reached Emily he carefully touched her cheek. There was a sigh of relief on both sides before they wrapped their arms around each other. Tears floated freely from their eyes, as well as from some in the audience. The others just started clapping. Their boss/friend defeated death and somehow managed to come back from another dimension.  
Tony meanwhile whispered in Emily's hair: "I am never letting you go again, never."  
"Likewise here. I'm glad you're ok. Could you just loosen the grip a little, I can't breathe."  
"Oh, sorry. You come back from death after an eternity and you are worried about me?"  
"Yeah, I left you in Loki's care of course I am. Besides I've only been gone for a day, so…"  
"Honey, no, you were gone a whole week." Emily looked at Tony and then in the crowd, who just nodded. "A week? My god, I'm sorry…"  
"Hey, hey, quit apologizing for one, by the way you look like hell."  
"Thank you, I already figured that out."  
"Is that blood in your hair? And those bruises, how come they are still here?"  
" Yes to the first one and either my powers are gone or the healing just burned out. Given the last thing I remember before blacking out was being ripped apart, it's understandable."  
"Alright, you should get checked out. Welcome back to the land of living freckles and happy birthday."  
"Just do me a favor and don't start singing that song."  
"As you wish." Laughter erupted in the crowd and everyone either went back to what they were doing previously or went to share the news with those who by any chance (which was very tiny) didn't hear about Em's return. The flags were put back to their original place, meaning black ones to the storage. While Em was getting a check up at the hospital, Tony ran off to get her something more comfortable to wear than the torn uniform she had. Turns out the camera survived somehow. They had footage, something to see whom they'll be up against.  
Tony was pacing in the hallway when doc came out.  
"How is she?"  
"Physically apart from the bruises and cuts she is fine, but very tired. Her x-gene seems to have repaired all internal damage done and it's currently down, basically recharging. She'll be alright, but needs her rest. I'm putting her on medical leave for the next two weeks, just to make sure. The one thing I'm concerned about is the leftover metal inside her. We can't tell if it's vibranium or adamantium, the second one being the worse option."  
"Why? She had it all the time, nothing happened."  
"Not with her healing, no. Adamantium is poisonous. Without the healing, it could kill her."  
"How much is still there?"  
"Well, her claws are intact, perhaps the attacker didn't count on them being there, other than that the sternum is completely covered, which explains how the camera survived, and some minor splashes here and there. He really wanted to be sure she'd die slowly."  
"Does she know?"  
"Yes, she mentioned he wanted her to die slowly and painfully, that is why he left some in. She's getting dressed; take her home. Physically she'll be fine, emotionally I'm not sure. She will need you more than ever right now."  
"Thanks, doc. I'll make sure she recovers. We still need her."  
The doctor nodded and left. Tony scratched the back of his head and went to sit down on one of the chairs. What was this strange feeling? Is it relief or is this what it feels like to be happy? He smiled and closed his eyes, not noticing Emily coming out the door, cleaner than before.  
"Are you crying, Tony?"  
"Maybe. But I'm not sad. I just… Come here." Emily liked the thought of hugging, so for a moment or two, she just sat on his lap with her head on his shoulder. After a while Tony looked at her with a strange look.  
"What?"  
"You're light as a feather. Too light in my view. I like those freckles, why do you always hide them?"  
"I don't know, I actually forgot I had them."  
"Keep them like that, the hair too, it makes you more, hmm how to say it, vivid. Dark copper looks good on you. Now, let's go home, I'm sure you want to soak in a tub."  
"Oh, you know me too well. Any idea on how to wash dried blood of hair?" Hand in hand they left the hospital and took the route to Emily's house where they decided to spend the night that already began. While Em was in the tub, Tony was giving commands to the robots through his phone until he was interrupted by Fury.  
"Hey, Nickie, what can I do for you?"  
"Just checking if you're still breathing. Where did that cheery tone come from?"  
"I'd tell you, but you'd think I'm nuts, so how about you stop by. Use the main gate, I'll give them a call to send you here."  
"I'm in no mood for games, Stark. Just spill, then I'll think about coming by."  
"Emily is here."  
"Here? Are you hallucinating? How much did you drink? Or are you high?"  
"What? No, see I said you wouldn't believe me. Feel free to call anyone here at GNC, I'd give you Em, but she's in the bathroom. Come by and see for yourself."  
"I will, until then stay where you are." He hung up. Tony rolled his eyes and threw the phone on the couch. Seriously? Fury thinks he's high. How did he get to this point? Just because he's happy his best friend/wife-to-be isn't dead doesn't mean he's taking drugs or getting drunk. He picked the phone up again and sent a quick message to the guards on the gate. Soon he was joined downstairs in the living room by Emily, who finally managed to wash all the dirt out of her hair.  
"How was the water?"  
"Wet and warm."  
"Good, Fury's gonna stop by. He didn't believe me a word and accused me of being either drunk or high or hallucinating."  
"What on earth were you doing while I was gone to make him think that?"  
"Let's see, building suits in the shop, tinkering on whatever I could get my hands on, I once ran off to the Tower and got wasted and that's about it."  
"Let me guess, no eating or sleeping?"  
"You got me. But in my defense, I did eat a pizza today; your guys manipulated me into it."

"Well, I'm going to thank them for that later. Where are the Avengers, by the way?"  
"Wakanda. Eye patch thought a change of climate would be good and Loki needed to talk to Thor. They didn't feel good about leaving me here though, so Fury said he'd babysit me while they're gone. I should probably call them. Nah, can wait."  
Meanwhile, Nick Fury reached the main gate of GNC.  
"Good evening, I'm here to see Tony Stark."

"Right, agent Fury. Take that road over there and just keep driving until you reach a house. There's nothing else there, really, just the woods. It's Emily's silent place."  
"Is it true then, she's really alive?"  
"Yes, she is. It was hard to believe, even for us and we saw her falling out of that portal."  
"Thanks, got to apologize to Stark then. Have a nice evening."  
"Likewise, drive safe."  
Fury followed the directions he was given at the gate. The road led him to a really dark forest and by the he thought he was driving far too long, he finally saw some light. Guided by it, he reached the house and knocked. Tony was the one to open the door.  
"Aaah, I was wondering if you got lost. This place is a bit off, I admit, but nice though."  
"Yeah, you could have gotten yourself a closer hideout. I almost thought I took the wrong road. So where is your friend?"  
"Come on in and follow me. I forbid her to move from spot, so she doesn't tire herself out more than she is. Oh and she does look a bit different." Fury entered the house and followed Tony to the living room, where Emily was sitting.  
"Nick, hi!"  
"Emily, welcome back to the land of living. What happened to you, girl?"  
"Got torn apart, passed out, died, woke up in Odin's vault, Heimdall found me and send me back here through a portal. Thanos got the Tesseract btw."  
"An eventful week then."  
"Actually, it wasn't even a day for me. Time flies slower in Asgard. Just like Mondays here on earth."  
"Interesting, well good to have you back, this one's been driving everyone nuts. I believe I owe you an apology, Stark. You were right, we were wrong, don't let it boost your ego."  
Tony looked satisfied. "I feel flattered. So, guys called yet?"  
"Yes, like every few hours. They are really starting to annoy me. Well, I got my proof, I'm gonna head back to base. Try to get him to sleep, he hasn't for the whole week."  
"I'll do my best. Have a good night, Nick."  
"Now that you're back, I certainly will. Good night, you two." With Nick gone, the duo headed to the bedroom for a very welcome sleep.  
It was lunchtime in Wakanda and Rhodey was battling the need to call Fury once again. Vision and Bruce were partially distracted by the females in the room, each of their own. While Viz had his eyes set on Scarlett Witch, Bruce was more interested in a certain Russian spy. Still half of his attention was on Rhodey. "If something happened, he'd call."  
"Would he? Yeah, he would, but you know how Stark get was when we left. It's just a matter of time before he hurts himself."  
"You really think he'd do something stupid? Right, bad question, he always does. But you think he'd really could hurt himself, like real bad?"  
"Think about it. Trauma, loss of someone he cared about, who knows what they saw back on Asgard. The combination is a time bomb and we really shouldn't be here, but there to keep an eye on him."  
"I agree on that one. But maybe he just needs some time alone. I mean we've constantly been breathing down his neck for the past days."  
"Alright, I'll call him and ask how he is. Then we'll see about going back right away."  
Rhodey left the room to call Tony, leaving Bruce with the remaining Avengers who had been listening to the conversation. Steve gave him a questioning look. "We're all worried about him. You should have seen him, he's a big mess."  
"He liked her, your boss?"  
"Yeah, he did. She could make him behave with just one look. Hell, all of us. Even Hulk adored her. One tough girl."  
"She's a trained agent? SHIELD?"  
"No, she had a company. GlobalNet. Stark Industries and them are having this year's expo."  
"So another billionaire turned wannabe superhero."  
"That is where you're wrong, Cap, very wrong. She had more experience than any of us. She led the IPA and was the leader of 4 teams in NY only." Steve looked impressed. He didn't expect that. "Her and Stark were close?"  
"Friends since they met at school."  
"Why did he never mention her?"  
"I don't know. We never asked."  
Rhodey came back to the room. "Well, I couldn't reach Tony, but Fury said he was alright and asleep, so we can stay a bit longer. Well, where were we on the missing item case?"

"We haven't exactly moved one bit. Are you sure we can't contact IPA; those guys really have eyes and ears everywhere. Who do you think found you were in Wakanda?" said Bruce, obviously getting bored. Vision was searching for possible links on the internet. "Well, there are many princesses here, maybe you are even searching for a queen and we can't rule that out. Given the time that has passed, the kingdom doesn't have to exist. Take Russia for example. The crown could be stored in a museum." The others listened to Vision carefully. He had a point, a very good one.

The morning came fast to NY. Emily's eyes flattered open only to catch Tony watching her. "You are so creepy."  
"I just wanted to make sure yesterday wasn't a dream. So, since we don't have anything edible here, how about we go out? How are you feeling by the way?"  
"I'm good, better than yesterday. The cut is still there?"  
"Yep, still there. Now come on. Oh, and your guys want to chat later about how you got back and such, perhaps watch the video."  
"Sure, call Fury here as well, I'm sure he'll be interested."  
Meanwhile in Wakanda, the Avengers were boarding the jet along with Loki and Thor, who decided to see Stark and Selvig. Natasha was also returning to the base. Before they left, T'Challa gave them a package to deliver to Tony. "He more or less pleaded me to make these. They may be useless now, but I'm sure he'd still want them."  
"What are those? Oh. Thank you, your highness." The team took off shortly afterwards, with an invitation from T'Challa to return anytime they'd like.

At GNC, down in the headquarters of the wolfpacks, 4 teams (40 people) along with Tony and Nick were seated around the large round table of the main briefing room. The room was dark, with a big screen covering one entire wall. Emily was getting the video up, having a mental battle with herself whether to watch with them or not. Not having the desire to go through all of that stuff again, she decided she'd try something to kick start her powers again, so she handed Jack the remote and left the room excusing herself.

The guys proceeded to watch… The first half was a bit amusing as everyone (even Fury) was laughing when they saw Tony in a diaper. Alright, everyone except Tony, who wanted to disappear. The laughter stopped as soon as the screen showed Thanos. Tony winced, seeing everything from Em's point of view, including the part when Loki dragged him through the portal was breaking his heart. She watched the portal until it closed, until she knew they were safe, knowing she couldn't last forever. He hit her full force, but she was still holding on.  
 _"They left you here to die."  
"Because I told them to." Thanos was amused by her words.  
"Where is the Tesseract?"  
"I don't know."  
"You don't know, huh. Maybe I could help you with your memory. The metal in your body is interesting. It is poison, killing you. I wonder what would happen if someone took it out." Thanos raised his glowed hand and lifted her in the air. Slowly and painfully the metal that her body ripping her skin apart. The room was filled with the sound of Emily's screams. In short he had her skeleton in his hand. Well, almost. "I left you a little souvenir. The last bits left will kill you slowly and painfully…." She fell on the ground, blood began to flow out. Another alien came up to Thanos and said something no one could understand. Thanos answered, thought for a moment and then pointed at Emily's body. Two aliens came and carried it over to the palace, followed by Thanos himself. They reached the vault. The opened door revealed the Tesseract. Thanos took it, crushed it and put the small stone located previously in its middle on his glove with a satisfied look. The aliens threw the limp body on the floor so it was facing the door. Then they left. Next few hours shoved no movement besides the puddle of blood forming around their boss. Then the camera started moving. She was breathing. A while later __Emily lifted her head from the ground, or the puddle of her own blood to be precise. Pushing herself upright she sat and inspected her surroundings. Thanos must have left her to rot as a welcome back present for Loki. The room was big with golden walls and filled all kinds of objects of various size and form. Some of them were weapons, war trophies, treasures. Some minutes and unfortunate attempts to stand up, she finally gathered enough energy to be able to stand up without falling on my butt again. She walked around the room a bit, obviously inspecting it. Until she caught her reflection on one of the objects. She stopped and observed herself, realizing for the first time how bad her state was. There were cuts and bruised on her body that weren't healing at the moment. On the side of her face was a blue ornament. She inspected herself a bit longer and then went back to searching the room. Footsteps made her return to the puddle and play dead. The door opened, but it wasn't one of Thanos guards. It was Heimdall. He slowly approached her. "I know you are not dead. Come with me, your highness, Thanos is gone and Asgard will be rebuilt again, but you have to go home." Emily stood up and followed Heimdall to the Bifrost.  
"Thank you. Why do you call me your highness?"  
"Well, you are a princess are you not?"  
"Yes, but how do you know?"  
"I know everything. I know who you are, where you are and what you do. I've been watching you since you were born, Emilianna. You are destined to do great things, but not here. Don't be afraid to use your crown, only you can harvest its power."  
"How do you… Never mind. Can you tell me something more?"  
"You already know it contains infinity stones. You figured it out shortly after the incident in NY. What puzzles you is why you feel the connection to it or how it got to you in the first place. It is because it was decided before you were conceived who you'll be. Some of your blood is asgardian. Odin and our late queen made sure about that. Like Thor has his hammer, you have your crown. Odin in person send the crown down to you and appointed me to keep an eye on you. Now it's time for you to return home. If you ever need me, just call my name. Have a good journey."  
"Thank you very much Heimdall, thank you." Emily exited the portal in front of GNC's main building. She turned around and gave Heimdall one last look before the portal closed. She was finally home.  
_The lights in the room went on and everyone looked around. They had terrified looks on their faces. What now, they were practically helpless against someone like Thanos. Even Fury looked scared, not to mention Tony. Around the same time they were leaving the briefing room, the Avengers Quinjet landed at their compound.

 **So, that's it for today. We'll pick a funnier topic next time. Of course there will be the Avengers meeting Em first, but then we'll go on to Tony's bachelor party, which will be really wild. Stay tuned and have a nice day!**


	40. Drinking too much

**Chapter 40- Drinking too much**

"Uh, what the hell!" Tony blinked and slowly opened his eyes. Running his fingers through his thick hair he looked around the room he didn't remember entering. It certainly wasn't the Avengers mansion, the Tower or the Malibu mansion or any other estate he owned. After a while he took to adjust to the light he found Rhodey who was in a seemingly very uncomfortable position half on the couch and half over the remains of a coffee table. The room was completely demolished. There was a pink flamingo gracefully walking around eating crumbles of whatever it was. He walked up to Rhodey and shook him awake. "Rhodes, Rhodes, Rhodes! Wake up!" Rhodey's eyes shot open and he fell from the table straight on the floor. "Ouch, what is going on? What time is it?"  
"I don't know, didn't bother to find out. I just woke up and thought you were uncomfortable so I woke you."  
"Yeah, thank you very much for that." "Hey, no need to be sarcastic this early in the morning."  
"As if it was early morning. Where are Bruce, Fury, Coulson, Jack, Happy, John and Rick? Wait, is that a flamingo?"  
"I think so, I'm no biologist."  
"So the rest?"  
"No idea. The only thing I know is that I have a big headache." With Tony's help Rhodey slowly rose to his feet. Together they observed the destruction which was most likely their fault.  
"Please tell me we are at one of your estates."  
"I wish I could."  
"Then where the hell are we?"  
"Let's find out." Tony walked up to the balcony and opened the door. For a few moments they just stared at the panorama. "Well, welcome to Tokyo, Rhodes."  
"You didn't just say that. How the f*ck did we end up in Japan?"  
"Dammed if I knew. I don't remember a thing. We should try to find the others first." They searched through the room that turned out to be one of the hotels most luxurious apartments. It had a Jacuzzi with a breathtaking view in the same room they found a passed out Hulk. Not Bruce, but Hulk.  
"Oh, shit. Any idea how to solve this and get out in one piece?"  
The Hulk started to stir. The guys made a b-line and hid behind the bar. Hulk slowly sat up, roared and looked around confused. In a short while he just changed back into Bruce. Rhodey and Tony let out a sigh of relief and walked towards Bruce who, too, had a massive hangover. "Hey there, you look a bit green?"  
"Really, Tony, that's the best you can come up with?" Tony shrugged.  
"Welcome to Tokyo by the way."  
"What?! I am never drinking with you again. Never!"  
"I agree on that with Bruce, but we got a bigger problem now than a hangover. We can't find the others." said Rhodes trying to remember anything while Tony was looking out of the window.  
"I think I know how we got here."  
"How?"  
"Well, there is a Quinjet parked on the parking lot below."  
The guys followed Tony's gaze and then quickly ran downstairs to the parking lot. On their way to the jet they passed a big crew with a crane that was getting a couch down from the rollercoaster that was one of the hotels attractions. "You know this would be a great holiday destination. Maybe we could make a team trip here someday, take Em and Viz and just relax."  
"You mean in the case they'll ever let us here again. 'Cause I'm pretty sure the couch blocking the roller coaster is our job." Tony pretended not to be listening. Instead he opened the jet and ran up the ramp. Ironically thanks to Loki, he now had much more energy than his friends. If it weren't for the scar on his chest he'd be the same as he was at 35. Emily used to call him bouncing energy ball. By the time Jimmy and Bruce came up the ramp he had already found the list of locations they'd visited in the previous 24 hours. So much to finding everyone here. He turned to Bruce and Rhodey who meanwhile collapsed in the seats. "Well, good news is we know where we've been and how much time we spent there."  
"The bad news?"  
"We have visited about 8 big cities on our way here so searching for them will be tough."  
"You forgot that if Em finds out we're dead."  
"Hey, she said no consequences of this weekend."  
"Yes and she also said to be back latest Sunday morning and everyone in one piece. Everyone. In. One. Piece!"  
"Well, no pressure then." At this point Rhodey was about to strangle Tony, but knowing they already lost far too many people during this trip, he chose to collapse back into his seat. And he'd be the one dead if they came back without the groom. Tony then ran out of the jet and headed back to the hotel reception. There he used his charm on the lady behind the desk. "Hello, I'm Tony. Aiko, that's a pretty name. Well, you see Aiko, my buddies and I are a bit lost. Could you tell me about what time we checked in?"  
Aiko smiled and began looking up information. Once she was done she scribbled them down on a piece of paper and handed it to Tony. "Thank you, it was just the three of us, right?"  
"Yes, just the three of you. Can I help you with something else?"  
"I'll be checking out, so I'd like to pay and as for the damage we did, I am deeply sorry, please send me the bill to this address."  
"Of course, . I'll hand it over to my manager and he'll handle it."  
"Thank you, the hotel is very nice by the way." Then he collected the guys from the couch in the lobby and went to collect their stuff from the room.

It was two weeks after Emily's return. Things slowly got back to normal, more or less. Loki almost crushed Emily the second he saw her standing next to Tony. After a round of hugs and kisses and apologies to Tony for thinking he was nuts, they returned back to their lives. Thor and Loki returned to Asgard and the construction of the Avengers mansion finished a few days in advance. It was now just a few days before the big day, meaning this weekend was Tony's bachelor party. On the other side of the world, the girls were enjoying the men-free weekend at the brand new mansion. The boys chose to retreat to Malibu and somehow ended up in Tokyo. The last thing Tony remembered clearly was landing the Quinjet in front of his mansion. Nothing after that. 'No consequences and I don't want to know what you did as long as you don't cause too much damage as in destroying a whole building. That is the only condition for the weekend. You're free, so enjoy it.' That's what Em said when they departed. Let's hope they won't have to explain how they lost everyone. There was another thing that was keeping his mind occupied. What were they supposed to do with the flamingo? All he knew is they somehow had to catch it and smuggle by the reception. With all the stuff they found packed and put in the jet, they returned to the room with a plastic carrier they bought in a shop on the corner and a plan. But the flaming wasn't going to make it easy for them. Finally after whole 30 minutes of chasing the bird, falling flat on the face or hitting furniture, they finally managed to corner it. Another 10 minutes passed before they finally caught it. Tony took the last bag from the room and went to the reception to divert attention from the guys with the big container. It worked and the flamingo was successfully loaded into the jet. None of them notices the bag Tony threw into the corner move…

Meanwhile back in the States the girls returned from a shopping trip. Vision, who refused to go with the guys, accompanied them to the mall only to realize how big of a mistake it was. He ran off to the old Avengers base/ Shield as soon as he had the chance. Emily, Natasha, Pepper and baby Ryan, Katie, Laura, Jenny and Maria Hill were later joined by Raven and Marie (Rogue). A few glasses of wine later, the movie they put up was forgotten and the conversation was covering various topics. Even Natasha was more relaxed than usual: "You know, there is something I don't quite understand. About you and Stark."  
"What is it?"  
"How on earth did you end up with him? You seem so, so different, like you're nice and humble and… He's an egocentric ass. I mean he does have a good ass, but he still is one." Emily could only grin and the women nodded at the great ass comment. Hill took the word:  
"I think what Nat is trying to point out here is that you are complete opposites and don't come with the opposites attract bullshit, it's not true. We know it's not the money, company or anything like that, 'cause you don't need that. So what is it?" Emily thought about it for a second. Pepper took the opportunity. "I'll tell you what, if it's the charm, you better say no on Monday. I'll give you a good tip, if you say yes, be prepared that you'll always be number 2. Iron man is always on top. Also, he has the attention span of a fruit fly. He never listens and he behaves like a three year old on a sugar rush." The girls nodded, Pepper made good points which as far as most of them are concerned was true.  
"Why do I feel like you want to talk me out of getting married?"  
"We're not; we are just giving you things to consider. You'll be the one who'll have to spend the rest of their life with him. Well you could always get divorced…"  
"Alright stop right there, Maria. You may have made good points, it's just that most of them aren't true. All of you see the mask he puts up to fool the world."  
"The world or you?" Emily rolled her eyes. Now she understood why the Avengers fell apart.  
"The truth is we are not that different at all. You just can't or don't want to see behind the cover. I fell in love in the guy, who taught me how to live again. The one who made me smile and cry. The guy who managed to gain my trust, my heart and break it. The same guy spent nearly 5 months gathering the courage to say he was sorry and then proceeded to slowly earn the trust and friendship he lost." Emily was now walking towards the piano. "You know, we had to go pick this thing up to Germany last week. We finally get this thing here put it down and he just sits at it for hours and tunes it to perfection. Just like that. He doesn't stop till it's perfect. That's how he is." The girls looked confused. Emily was not sure whether it was the fact that Tony could play the piano or the way she described him. "You don't get it, do you? Alright, let's just say there is another part of Tony you didn't see, because you weren't looking for it. Tony is more than Iron Man. More than the metal shell you see."  
After a moment of silence Raven said: "You know, I actually wanted to ask who plays the piano here."  
"Besides Rhodey, basically everyone. Rhodey plays the guitar. Bruce knows a bit and Tony took the time to teach Vision."  
"You too?"  
"Yep, it was part of my education. My parents insisted on it so I had no other choice. But out off all they'd been stuffing in my head this was the most pleasant one along with dancing. Alright, enough about that. Point is, I love Tony and he loves me. I've known that guy for 30 years, I know what I'm doing and for the record, he is able to listen for hours. Now, what movie do we put up next?"

On the other side of the world, the Avengers were already halfway to Australia. Sydney, Johannesburg, Wakanda, Moscow, Amsterdam, Rome, L.A. and Las Vegas. This was the travel plan and they were quickly running out of time. Tony turned from the pilot seat to the crew on board. Bruce was checking the phone while Rhodey was having a stare off with the flamingo. "You managed to reach someone on the phone?"  
"Well, we managed to find out that Jack and Coulson left their phones here. I'm still working on the rest."  
"We have about 24 hours left, what do you think are our chances?"  
"Given we don't remember a damn thing? Really bad."  
"What about you, Rhodes?"  
"I think the bird is up to something." Tony turned to Bruce and whispered: "What did you give him?" Bruce pointed at the bottle of painkillers. After a short inspection, Tony returned to the cockpit and later landed the jet in Sydney.  
"Now what?" asked Bruce as they exited the jet, leaving Rhodey sleep so he could get himself together.  
"I have no idea. Let's start with the beach." They left a note to Rhodey and left with no idea where to search first. After a while Tony came to a stop.  
"Yep, we were definitely here."  
"How can you be so sure… Oh." Bruce too, spotted the giant hole in the sand. A hole the Hulk could comfortably fit in. The empty bottles around it just confirmed their suspicion. The duo inspected the hole for a while and then followed the trail of alcohol up the beach. This time they got lucky and next to a pile of rocks and fallen trees they saw a person. Running up to him they recognized him as Jack. Tony picked a stick up from the ground, but Bruce stopped him. "What are you doing?"  
"I'll poke him to see if he's dead."  
"Ok, go ahead then." Tony did and Jack growled. A few more pokes caused him to wake up.  
"Uhh, where am I?" Stark put up a proud grin.  
"Australia, Sydney to be precise."  
"What? How on earth did we end up in Australia?" Tony looked at Bruce, who put his hands up in defense. He wasn't going to answer that question.  
"Well, if it makes you feel any better we woke up in Tokyo. I don't know, ok, none of us seems to remember. On top of that we are missing people. The alcohol highway ends here so I guess we can go search another country."  
"Never again, Stark, never again."  
"Yeah, I heard that already."  
Soon they were in the air. Unexpectedly, Tony's phone rang. It was Happy.  
"Hey, you can't even imagine how happy I am to hear from you, Happy."  
"Yeah, yeah. Listen, where the hell are you? I woke up and the room was empty."  
"And where exactly are you? Which city?"  
"What kind of stupid question is that?"  
"Just go and check." Some grumbling from the man later, the line fell silent. Tony wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Hogan shouting.  
"How the hell did I get to Johannesburg?"  
"Does it make you feel any better that we were in Tokyo and Jack was in Sydney? Stay where you are we are coming. Oh and don't tell Pepper."  
Before Happy could say something, Tony hung up and raced full speed to Johannesburg. This was going way too easy until now. Way too easy. Meanwhile, Friday traced Happy's phone. The jet landed not far from the city they destroyed a few years ago. Happy looked pissed. Even more after the guys told him all they know. On the way back to the jet, Tony remembered something. "I know where we need to go next. Rome." He jumped up the ramp faster than anyone was able to react. With everyone on board (double checked) the jet took off towards Rome. Happy was curiously eyeing the flamingo. "So, what did you remember?"  
"We were acting out scenes from Gladiator in the Coloseum or something like that. Anyway, we find the next person on our list there."  
The long forgotten bag Tony brought in last in Japan started moving and growling. This time it didn't go unnoticed by Bruce. "Um, guys. The bag is moving." Everyone turned their heads to the bag. The creature managed to rip it open. A raccoon was staring at them, ready to attack. No one moved and no one dared to breathe. Tony motioned to one of the storages with holes in the front suggesting they'd try to lock it up there. He switched the jet to full autopilot and together they surrounded the beast. It was outnumbered; perhaps it'd just climb into the bag. The raccoon however did not share this opinion. Instead it let out a shriek and launched itself on the guys. Chaos erupted in the jet. The animal was running around, jumping and launching itself on everyone who came into its way. An hour later the beast was tired out, probably, and the guys managed to corner it and throw a blanket over it. The raccoon calmed down and was then carefully locked into the storage box. With a few scratches and/or bites the guys collapsed in their seats. Bruce thought for a moment and then spoke: "So, we have a flamingo and a raccoon. Did anyone check the cargo area?"  
The crew shook their heads. Tony returned to the pilot seat and said: "It can wait till we land. No more pets on flight. I'm more interested in where we can get rabies shots."

After landing in Rome right in front of the Colosseum, they ran into the Arena. They split up in two and each duo ran in another direction. Meanwhile, Tony went to get a cage and some food for the raccoon in a nearby pet store, given he was the only one who actually knew Italian. The boys were running around the arena for about 30 minutes when they saw something in the lower level. Bruce and Jack quickly jumped down and discovered it was John, still asleep against one of the pillars. With team effort of the remaining crew they managed to get him back up and leave before being caught by the guards. They ran into the jet where Tony was feeding the animals and petting the raccoon. "You aren't seriously petting that beast, are you?"  
"Why not? It isn't that bad, he was just hungry. Btw, we don't have another animal in the cargo bay."  
"Alright, so how much time we got left?"  
"14 hours. It takes 6 hours from Amsterdam to NY, about 8 from Moscow and Wakanda."  
"So Moscow or Amsterdam?"  
"Amsterdam, they have weed."  
Jack scratched his head and looked at Bruce.  
"I think I remember something about Amsterdam."  
"What?"  
"Not much, but there was water, a boat-like building and it had something to do with Finding Nemo."  
"Finding Nemo? Oh god, what did we do this time? Does the combination of Amsterdam and Finding Nemo ring any bell to anyone?"  
Confused looks were exchanged. Tony ran a hand through his hair and suddenly stopped.  
"Not Finding Nemo, NEMO the museum in Amsterdam. Museum of science and technology. What? Stop looking like that, Em and I are supposed to go on tour to Europe in a month and that is on the travel plan."  
"Do you know where it is?"  
"No, but that's why we got Friday here. Friday, directions to NEMO, Amsterdam."  
 _"Yes, sir."_ Upon arrival they made a few circles above the museum. Rhodey, who was watching intensively out of the window, saw someone on its roof.  
"Guys, I think someone is on the roof. Wait, there are two. Tony, land over there." Tony did as he was told. Rick and Coulson, both with hangover and high, were leaned against the vents laughing about something unspecified. Getting them both on board was a big tricky, but they managed. It worked out and on top of that, Phil had a camera around his neck.  
Using the time they got on their flight to Moscow, they went through all the stuff they gathered in the jet. Jack, who was going through the raccoon bag, started to laugh.  
"Guys, you're not gonna believe this."  
"What is it?" Jack held up the picture. It was Phil and the flamingo in a casino in Vegas. Phil was giving the flamingo a kiss.  
"Oh, and Tony. Apparently you adopted the raccoon in Japan. I'm looking forward to seeing you explain this to Em." Thanks to Phil's camera, they located John on the Red Square, surrounded by Russian policemen. He was trying to explain them, why he was sleeping on the statue. Long story short, the bill from this trip now insisted also of a fine for defilement of private property. The last person on the to-find-list was Nick Fury. The places left were LA, Las Vegas and one which Tony wanted to avoid by all means, Wakanda. That had to go aside; they needed Fury back and that quick. They were running short on time.

Bruce, Rhodey and Happy stepped out of the Quinjet in front of T'Challa's palace. Not seeing any damage, they gathered some more confidence and knocked. They were greeted by Fury himself. "Ah, thank god, you're ok."  
"Why wouldn't I be? I gotta tell ya, you look like hell."  
"Yeah, and we're the better looking ones."  
"What happened to you?"  
"That's a very long story. What happened to you?"  
"Nothing, I spent some time with Captain and the rest of the team here. You dropped me off here."  
"We did? Why? Because we remember next to nothing from last night."  
"Well, can't help you with much, but you wanted to celebrate with Cap, hoping to melt some ice. Stark didn't, not that it's much of a surprise. He locked himself in the cabin when we landed, so after an hour, when you were all pretty wasted already, you decided to leave somewhere else. I stayed here, decided to catch up and you promised to come and pick me up. Since it looks like we're late already, T'Challa is also getting ready to leave by the way, I'll just go and say bye and we can leave."  
The guys ran up the ramp. Tony turned around, with the raccoon on his lap and a devilish grin; he looked like the most dangerous person on the planet, stopping them in their tracks. The more terrifying thing was that the raccoon appeared to have the same grin as Tony. When Nick came up the ramp he looked back and forth between Tony, Raccoon, the flamingo and the remaining men. Bruce and Rhodey answered his unspoken question.  
"You don't want to know." They said.

After 8 hours at full speed they finally reached NY, agreeing that they'd pick their stuff up in LA later. The women were already waiting for them, standing in front of the Avengers mansion as they got out of the jet. Thankfully for them, the ride was long enough for all of them to sober up. Tony took the raccoon carrier and strolled towards Emily.  
"Hey, you guys are late."  
"Yeah, sorry, we fell asleep. Anyway, here, this is for you." Tony opened the carrier, took the raccoon out and handed it to Emily. To say she looked shocked would be a big understatement.  
"That's a raccoon."  
"Yes, I think it's obvious." With that he walked back, the shock therapy worked perfectly.


	41. Tomorrow is just another day

**Hello, it's me again. So, we finally reached the pre-wedding chapter. Starting were the last chapter stopped, we shall revisit the raccoon (which I still have to come up with a name for and will not be named Rocket, because Guardians of the Galaxy), flamingo and King T'Challa's arrival along with some surprising guests. It will also feature a reunion, T'Challa being secretive and some tension between Tony and Pepper. The wedding will be up soon in one emotional chapter called** _ **After all.**_

 **Thank you all for still putting up with me and my fantasy and for still reading this story.**

Chapter 41- Tomorrow is just another day

Emily got over the raccoon, well she had to, because shortly afterwards, the guys walked out with a flamingo. She put it on the ground and decided it was for the best not to ask and just returned to the mansion to Pepper and Natasha. "Well, they are back, all of them, plus a flamingo and a raccoon."  
"A flamingo and a raccoon?"  
"Yes, Nat. Tony gave the raccoon to me saying it was a present, but I'm having a hard time believing him."  
The boys marched into the living room area, Tony with the raccoon in tow. Natasha and Pepper gave them very strange looks. Pepper didn't like the raccoon at all. She held Ryan closer to her.  
"Oh, dear, she wasn't joking. Don't let that thing get close to my son, Tony."  
"I thought his name was Ryan. But I'm flattered, Pepper." Tony obviously enjoyed driving Pepper nuts. The innocent tone he used just added oil to the fire.  
"Tony! His name is Ryan. And you, Tony Stark, are not going to let that beast anywhere near him."  
"Hey, hey. You don't let YOUR son near MY raccoon."  
As the two were glaring daggers at each other, Tony holding Raccoon and Pepper baby Ryan, Natasha slid closer towards Emily.  
"Do you think they're going to kill each other?"  
"Honestly, no idea. But I like the idea of a wedding more that a funeral. You should have been here on Christmas. That was quite a show."  
Those two obviously still had some unresolved stuff from the past, because fighting over a raccoon quickly turned into arguing over basically everything. The tension was thankfully interrupted by T'Challa's jet landing. Tony swiftly followed Emily to make sure T'Challa does not say a word about their little getaway. He didn't.  
"Emily, now I am sure I'm attending a wedding and not a memorial."  
"Well, it's pretty hard to get rid of me. So, what about your new bodyguards?"  
"Guys, come out. It's safe."  
The Avengers stood right behind Emily, lined up perfectly like soldiers behind their general. They were curious whether their plan worked out or not. It was pretty simple. As T'Challa's bodyguards they gained diplomatic immunity. Also Emily sat down with the president who arranged they would be good to stay all week without being arrested. He too knew that the world owed them, mainly the USA. The officials would be meeting soon to possibly suppress the charges. Everyone knew Ross wouldn't like it at all, but no one cared about this guy's opinion anymore. Especially after finding out who ordered to nuke New York. Looks like Ross will have some explaining to do. The UN wasn't going to be that easy. The Germans didn't like their destroyed airport at all.  
Clint and Sam slowly stepped out. A big smile spread out on Clint's face as he descended the stairs.  
"You look pretty alive for a dead person."  
"Doing my best."  
"Oh, this is Sam. The Falcon." Sam passed Clint and extended his hand towards Emily.  
"Nice to meet you, just to clarify, you are not going to arrest us?"  
"No, I'm not."  
"But you are the UN senator, right?"  
"Yes, that is correct. Now, this squad here behind me are the Avengers and those here are Rick, Jack and John from Wolf packs. Welcome back to the States, guys."  
"Where's Stark? Still holding a grudge?" Emily looked a bit confused. Tony was standing right behind her just a moment ago. She took a look and saw Tony was still there.  
"What do you mean? He's right here, just wearing sunglasses. Guys, at ease." She said as the guys were still playing soldiers. Then it clicked in her head. "Right, I get where the confusion is coming from. I can assure you this is still him, just younger and with a lot more energy. Too much energy." Tony, amused by the confusion he caused, stepped forward to Sam.  
"I'm not holding a grudge, by the way."  
"Good to know. So why are we here again? T'Challa mentioned a summit and a party."  
"There's a summit this week?" Tony turned to Em for answers.  
"Nope, just a big party with some government officials present. No summits for sure just one big meeting on Thursday, even all IPA teams are on stand-down for the entire week. I'm interested to see how that's gonna work out. So, are the others hiding in the plane or?" Falcon looked at Clint.  
"No, it's just us."  
"Why?"  
"Well, Wanda still doesn't want to face Vision, Steve doesn't want to leave Bucky and he's waiting for Thor to come back and Scott, well he doesn't want to move."  
"Thor and Loki should arrive here sometime this week. Now come on, get your stuff down. You can pick either the old facility, your rooms remained intact, don't worry, or the guest rooms at the new mansion. That's right up there. You guys better get some rest, Laura and the kids should be here in about two hours."

The guys settled for the old facility. An hour later Pepper left with Ryan and Happy to their new apartment in NYC. Pepper was now a stay at home mom while Happy still worked for Tony as his forehead of security/ assistant. John, Jack and Rick also departed back to their homes, needing to get some sleep before tomorrow. Everyone left was now assembled in the living room area of the Avengers mansion. Emily was in the kitchen, with Tony 'helping' her with dinner. He was sitting on the other side of the kitchen counter and talking about innovations he could do to the already modern kitchen.  
"Here, if you really want to be helpful, go set the table."  
"Will do, princess." He said, earning an eye roll from Emily, laughter from the rest of the Avengers and curious looks from their guests.  
"Wow, you really have him tamed, don't you?" Emily looked at T'Challa with a devilish smirk.  
"Tamed? I may have cast a spell on him. Just kidding, I don't know, he was always like this to me." Tony finished setting the table as the entrance door flew open and Lila jumped right in his arms.  
"Uncle Tony! Guess what! I got an A+ on my math test."  
"That's great, kiddo. How about you tell your dad about it, too." Said Tony, turning his head to where Clint was sitting. He put Lila down, who took a moment to absorb everything and then with tears forming in her eyes ran over to her father.  
"Daddy! I missed you so much."  
"I missed you, too sweetie. You grew up." He just sat there, on the floor, with his daughter in his arms.  
"Where were you? Why did you go?"  
"I had to help a friend, I didn't know I'd be gone that long. I'm so sorry, sweetheart, so sorry."

Meanwhile, outside the mansion Cooper was helping his mom get their stuff out of the car. The boy took over his father's role in the household. They were soon joined by Tony and Bruce.  
"Hey, how about you guys go inside, we'll get the bags for you."  
"That's nice from you, Tony, thank you, but I still have to get Nate, he fell asleep."  
"No, Laura, just let us handle this. There is someone there who would love to see you. Oh, and there's a raccoon and a flamingo running around the compound, just so you know."  
"I won't ask about the new pet part. Who's there?"  
"Clint. Coop, your dad's inside." The young boy put the bag down and ran inside.  
"For real?" Bruce smiled at her as she unbelievingly stared at them.  
"Yes, for real, now go and let us handle the rest. Oh, and leave the car keys here with us."  
Tony and Bruce drove the car down to the facility where Clint was staying so that the family could be together. They returned to the mansion to see all the Barton's, minus Nate, who was still sleeping in Bruce's arms, in a big teary hug on the floor, with the others quietly watching the scene.

After dinner people returned to the couch. Sam was chatting with Rhodey, Bruce and Vision were playing yet another game of chess, Em and Tony were talking with T'Challa about the chances on the UN panel, Laura was talking to Nat and Clint was listening to his kids.  
"I'm going to look like a princess tomorrow, daddy."  
"Oh, will you? You are always a princess."  
"Yes, but I will have a princess dress and a crown. I am the main flower girl. And Coop and Nate have to wear a tux."  
"Are you? Who's getting married?"  
"Aunty Em and Uncle Tony are. Mia will be there too. She's so cute." Clint looked a bit confused, so Coop took the chance to clarify it.  
"Mia is Emily's pet wolf, dad. And the coolest part is the president will be there as well."

Clint wanted to say something but he was cut off by Laura. "Kids, it's bedtime. You don't want to be sleepy tomorrow, do you?" The kids shook their heads. "Say good night and come on. Dad will be here all week."

Once they left Clint turned to Tony. "All right, let's clear some stuff up. You're getting married?"  
"Yes, tomorrow, 1PM."  
"I didn't see that one coming." Sam was also staring at Tony. Who would have thought the playboy would be getting hitched and not to Pepper.

"So, how long have you guys been dating?"  
"Last year, end of September I think. When have we been to Disneyworld? That was our first official date. I proposed in November."  
"So, you've been dating for not even two months and you propose? Nothing against you, Emily, you seem nice, but you can't even get to know a person in such a short time."  
"Nah, we've known each other for about 30 years now."  
"Well, then forget what I said."

The rest of the evening flew by fast and soon it was time for Emily to leave for GNC.  
"Alright, as much as I'd love to stay here with you, I have to go."  
"So you guys are keeping the tradition?"  
"No, but I have to make sure we have enough room for all the guests on the airport tomorrow. So I'd either have to get up at four and drive down from here or go there now and get to sleep till half past five."  
"Obvious choice."  
"Yeah, I think that too. Goodnight guys, I'll see you tomorrow."  
Tony walked Emily out to her car. "So, this is it."  
"Yes, yes it is. You're nervous?"  
"No. Ok, maybe a little. Alright, I am."  
"Wow, never thought a party could get Tony Stark nervous."  
"You can't say you aren't. I don't even know why, tomorrow is just another day."  
"Yes, it is. I really have to go now."

"I know. Goodnight."  
"Goodnight."

TONY'S POV

I kissed her cheek. She got into the car and gave me one more smile before closing the door. Standing on the hill I watched as the taillights of her car disappeared in the distance. I must have stood there a long time, because Rhodey came to get me back inside.  
"You're alright?"  
"Yeah, just thinking."  
"When are you not? Now come on, we really should catch up on sleep. Raccoon is staying with you by the way."  
"Do you think we could get a tux for him?"

Emily's POV

The mansion in my rearview mirror became smaller every second. In the dark night on the empty road, only the moon was providing me company. The moon and my own thoughts. Let's just hope it all goes well tomorrow. And by well I mean, the world doesn't end tomorrow. Logan promised to come, too. He still doesn't remember a lot, just bits and pieces. That's something too. Finally I reached the entrance of GNC and was greeted by the guards. "Hey, boss. Now, how's our bride-to-be?"  
"Good, I guess. Just a bit nervous about tomorrow."  
"Don't worry. This is probably the safest place. We are on guard-duty; the shield makes sure there will be no attack from above or any other direction. And if he runs off, he'll deal with us. Now go to bed, you still have to be up early tomorrow."  
"You're right, guys. It's a good feeling to know I can rely on everyone here. Good night, have a good and peaceful service."  
"Will do, boss. Drive safe."  
The barrier lifted and I drove to my house. I entered and turned the lights on. It was strange, that silence. After all these years of being alone, with silence being part of my everyday life, it's hard to believe how fast the boys have become a part of my life. I threw my handbag on the couch and descended the staircase leading down to the basement. There was one more thing left to do before heading to bed. 65 feet (20 meters) below the ground, hidden in a labyrinth of tunnels my legacy was hidden. The last tie to my old life, the lost diadem made out of unknown metal which, according to a legend, fell from the sky in a lightning bolt with a message. That was the day, no, night when I was born. Everyone thought it was a sign from God. The diadem has been with me ever since. It's safe to say we are tied together.  
After good 15 minutes of walking I finally reached the safe. It was a bit dusty, but given this thing could survive a nuclear blast, it wasn't something to worry about. Tony was the only other person to know the password. With the diadem in my hand I made my way back home. After a shower I collapsed on the bed and with one last look on the 4 infinity stones shining in the night I closed my eyes. Just another day, my ass, he wouldn't be nervous about just another day.

Tony's POV

We were sitting in the living room, catching up on everything that happened. Both Legolas and Falcon were really curious about what went on here while they were gone.  
"Never in my life have I thought you'd be getting hitched. It was surprising you managed to get a girlfriend that was normal."  
"Funny Legolas, if you managed it, how could I not."  
"Ouch. So what is the plan for tomorrow? Really big party, tons of news channels, hot chicks?"  
"I'm gonna disappoint you Wilson. No news, they have no idea. Hot chicks, maybe. GNC has plenty of those, Shield too. About 300 guests at the ceremony, a big dinner in the ballroom and the party will be there and outside. But it will be a big royal wedding."  
"Royal wedding? Stark your ego didn't shrink at all."  
"For Emily I'd do anything and let's be honest, girls dreams of a big royal wedding, right Romanoff?"  
"Don't push your luck, I can still kill you in your sleep. While it crosses the mind of every girl, it doesn't mean they want it."  
"True, but she deserves it. She's special in more ways than one. I've been in love with her ever since I saw the real her."  
"I have one more question on you, Stark."  
"Which would be?"  
"Can you really tune a piano? Like fine tune."  
"I can tune it, yes, but fine-tuning goes only with Emily's help. She has ears for that. You got it from her, don't you?"  
"Yes, but she didn't mention her part in that."  
"Her ears and nose can pick up smell and noises miles away. It can become overwhelming at times, that's why the entire upper floor has a soundproof shield."  
"She loves you too, you know. I basically tried to talk her out of marrying you, Pepper joined in, but Emily wouldn't hear about it. Don't let this one go, Stark."  
"Don't worry; I won't make the same mistake twice. My life depends on her. So does my sanity. I'm going to bed, tomorrow's a big day after all."  
I left leaving them to wonder the meaning if my words. Tomorrow won't be just another day. It will be the beginning of something new. Something great.


	42. After All

**Hey guys! Who else loves the new Spider-Man movie? Well, I certainly did, it was awesome and hilarious. Spidey is really cute and funny, I have to admit it is by far the best Spiderman movie I saw. Iron man was a nice addition to it and I loved the ending, but I don't want to give spoilers or anything, so let's just say I loved Peppers role there, but if anyone wants to know it's already on the mcu wikia (Pepperony shippers like me will love it). So this chapter will be about Tony and Emily's wedding, full of many characters.**

 **Link to Emily's dress .eu/shared/images/products/zoom/205_** **or just imagine the one you like, I'll leave that up to you. I don't own any of the songs mentioned here and the vows are from the internet.**

Chapter 42-After All

Emily's POV

"Alright, this is the last one. Take it down, boys." I said as I checked the securing on the last mission jet to be stored away for the day. They'd be going to get a software update, as well as new hardware.  
"We'll have the fastest and most modern fleet in the world boss. Those babies will be untraceable and fast." Said Henry lowering the ramp.  
"Well, you can't stop progress." It was 6AM and all jets were stored away in underground hangars. This week the whole GNC/IPA fleet (like every single jet all around the globe) was going to get a major upgrade. It had to be done until Wednesday night, because there was going to be a big IPA meeting on Thursday and Friday. Hopefully the UN wasn't going to go nuts during that time (I'm giving them 2 days before they'll call with the first stupidity they can come up with, Bruce said they'll last 3 and Tony gives them time until this evening).  
But today wasn't about that. Today was going to be about love and friendship between Tony and me. The first guests were supposed to arrive around 10AM. By arrive I mean land at "GNC International" as the airport staff called it.  
"No, you can't. I better go and start getting ready before the girls arrive. You guys can handle without me. Thanks for the help."  
"You're welcome."  
"Where would I be without you? I'm lucky to have you."  
"Likewise, boss. Now go! You have to get ready."  
I waved them goodbye and drove back home. After the shower I dried my hair and sat down on the couch to catch up on some news, eat breakfast and even managed to give Mia a bath. Soon I'll be walking down the aisle towards Tony. The peace didn't last long. At 9AM Katie and Jenny stormed through the door. Their hair was already done. Natasha and Laura with Lila followed.  
"Nice house you got here." Said Nat, who was the only one of the ladies who hasn't been here before. "Thanks, it's my paradise. Mia lives in the forest, well most of the time. She's sleeping somewhere here now."  
"Mia's your dog, right?"  
"Wolf, actually. So let's get started." Large grins appeared on Katie's and Jenny's faces. They pulled out the largest make-up trolley I have ever seen. Ok, I haven't really seen any of those before, but it was big.

Tony's POV

"Do I look ok?"  
"Tony, for the one hundred time, yes you do. Now can we go? We're supposed to be there in like an hour to meet the guests. According to Friday, traffic sucks and we can't take the jet." Rhodey was getting impatient with me. I can't blame him, I just want today to be perfect. I checked my looks in the mirror once again. Man, I'm hot. One last check on the hair and we were good to go.  
"Finally!" Wilson shouted. "You are worse than a girl. Now get in."  
"Actually, you are going with Happy. I'm driving my Audi." He shot me a glare. All three limo's in the parade, plus the Royce and my R8 had white silk ribbons on the hoods. The Royce with Happy as a driver and King T'Challa, Hawkeye, Hawkeye Jr., Nate and Falcon on board was the first to depart. Rhodey, Bruce and Vision each drove in one of the limo's with some agents and I was in the center of the convoy. Natasha had left earlier with Laura and Lila. Highway to hell was blasting from my speakers. Hmm, maybe not the best choice for driving to your own wedding, but it's ACDC, so who cares. There was no shortage of fancy cars in GNC, some of them I recognized from Em's private collection. Her favorite one was being washed and decorated. The car convoy was getting ready to go and pick up people from NY, including the X-men and Spidey with his hot aunt.  
It was now 11AM, so we had about two hours till the beginning of the ceremony. Time to go to the Airport and meet the gang from Washington aka the senators with the president. After checking up on everything I could, which bothered a lot of people who were a bit stressed, I let myself in into the airport tower.  
"Hey, when's Air Force one landing?"  
"10 minutes, you can wait here, but stay quiet; we're pretty busy right now." I sat down in one of the spare chairs and waited. Silence lasted 2 minutes, then it got boring. Since the air traffic controllers were obviously busy, I decided it was for the best to go down and take a walk around the hangars rather than unintentionally causing some kind of disaster. On my way I met with some other team leaders from other countries. Today I've gotten more threats than in my entire life. That's a new record. Most of them went like "If you hurt her, or harm her in any way, we'll find you and kill you. There would be nowhere for you to hide." Yes, I can pretty much imagine that, but I don't have those intentions anyway. Not this time. In the distance I can see Air Force One finally approaching.

Emily's POV

I was standing in front of the mirror in my bedroom. My front hair was pinned in the back with white flowers; the rest of it was falling down in waves. Again I didn't bother cutting it. Mine, no one takes my hair away. The girls went to get dressed, leaving me alone for a moment. I used the time to properly attach the veil to the diadem. It had little hooks for it you could also attach a chain to put it around your neck. My phone beeped, a message from Tony: _'The president just landed. Why is everyone after me? They want to kill me, I swear. Love you, your awesome prince charming.'_

Yep, today was going to be the start of an adventure. Poor Tony, who knows what they actually told him or how many of them for that matter. Time to take a look at my bridesmaids. "Are you girls all dressed up?" I shouted from the hall on my way to the dressing room.  
"Almost." Natasha said as she stuck her head out from the door.  
"You look beautiful, girls." Their dresses were either red or blue. Lila's dress was white and blue with a tulle skirt. She looked absolutely adorable with the tiara in her hair. Mia came running up to the room with a basket in her mouth. She'll be playing the role of the ring bearer. Little Nathaniel just didn't want to and you can't force a toddler.  
"Thank you for not making us wear pink or something terribly ugly." said Nat, with Raven and Marie nodding in agreement.  
"No problem. I'm going to get into my dress, can't believe it's almost time. Mia, come on, put the basket down."  
"I'll help you, you finish the makeup here." Natasha followed me to my bedroom. Once I was in the dress, it was time for the final piece of my outfit. I walked towards the safe on my drawer and took out the diadem with the veil. It's been a very long time since the last time I wore it. I have a copy of it, in each case, but I haven't had this one on my head for almost 80 years. Around the neck, yes, once or twice. Now I'm not sure what to expect from it. The problem with this thing is that if someone else touches it, they get zapped. Natasha was observing my little ritual from her spot on the bed.  
"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just trying to remember something important."  
Carefully not to damage my hairstyle I put the thing on my head. Throwing the veil from my face I got a clear view on 4 shining infinity stones. Nothing was wrong, but that didn't mean it was going to remain like that. I stepped away from the mirror into a beam of sunlight that shone through the window. Blue ornaments appeared on my skin, just like the day I returned from Asgard.  
"Now I know what I forgot about."  
"What exactly is that?" Natasha said a bit shocked.  
"That is a bit tricky to explain."  
"How about you try?"  
"Well, they are pigment marks on my skin that I usually manage to hide, but sometimes I don't manage it." It was actually a good sign, I thing. It meant my powers were returning. They disappeared shortly after I got back, and besides the healing factor, not one of my powers was working.  
"I'll get the makeup, we can cover it up." She was out of the room before I could have stopped her. Jenny and Katie were the first to arrive.  
"Hey, your marks are back. We brought all the equipment so..."  
"That's nice, but no, thank you. I think I'll just keep them with me." Katie and Jenny both nodded.  
"I love the blue streak in your hair, by the way. Oh, and you have a visitor. Logan. We are leaving already, your ride will be here shortly, so no long talk." Jenny said leaving with Katie and allowing Logan to step into my bedroom.

Logan's POV

Once the girl left it was just me and Emily. Man, did she look pretty.  
"Hey." Might as well be a good start.

"Hi, Logan. What brings you here? To the house I mean."  
"I had a chat with your future husband. He didn't seem like the same person I saw on TV."  
"Well, you can't believe everything the TV or the internet say."  
"No. Anyway, I wanted to check if you're 100% sure about it. You look beautiful by the way."  
"Thanks, Logan. I'm sure about it."  
"Good, he doesn't want you to be unhappy, you know. And he also thinks you need closure and frankly, so do I. You still love me, don't you?"  
Emily looked at the ground then back up and me again. "Yes, I'm afraid I still do, but I love Tony as well."  
I stepped forward and took her hands in mine. Somehow it felt so familiar.  
"Emily, listen, I'm not the man you knew all the years ago. I wish I was, but I don't remember that guy. Whatever he promised you, it's all gone."  
"I know that, Logan."  
"Life gave you a great chance at happiness. Take it. I took mine and even though it doesn't seem like it, the X-men are my new family. I even got myself an adoptive daughter, kind of. Just don't tell them I said that, it would ruin my reputation."  
"I won't I promise." She said, putting up a smile. Now I feel much better.  
"Are we good?"  
"Yes, yes we are."  
"Good. Who's giving you away?" I asked as I heard the car coming closer to the house.  
"No one is." Good, that's good.  
"Well, I was wondering if I could do that. I'm your oldest friend here after all, princess and frankly this would be a good way to close this chapter of our lives. You're not the only one who needs this kind of closure. What do you say about that?"  
Emily stood there for a moment, thinking about my offer. My phone buzzed. Probably Chuck trying to figure out where the hell I was.  
"You're right. I'd be honored if you'd give me away. Thank you for that, Logan." The hug took me by surprise, but I hugged her back. The memories I had of her were the best ones, but it was time for both of us to stop dwelling on the past and look to the future. After all, we both will be here for many years to come and who knows how this will end. The car turned in the driveway and parked in front of the house.

Tony's POV

Between the various guests I saw one that caught my attention. A beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair I couldn't help but walk towards. "Hey Pepper, I'm glad you could make it. It's good to see you. Sorry about yesterday, it was stupid."  
"I'm glad to be here. Don't worry about it, I may have overreacted a bit."  
"No you didn't. Listen, I'm tired of us fighting all the time. We used to be so good together and I can't help but wonder what the hell went wrong. Anyway, I'm sorry for hurting you and for pissing you off all the time and for putting you in danger. I have something for you here." Before she could say anything, I took a ring I've had for far too long, the one she declined three times out of my pocket. "Tony, I can't."  
"Pepper, you can. Please, take it. Consider it a late birthday gift. The only thing I'm proposing to you today is going back to friendship. I can see you're happy with Happy. You deserve it. If you're interested, your position at Stark Industries is still free." She smiled the smile I loved so much and finally accepted it.  
"Thank you. I'll think about it. There are times I really miss it. Staying at home can sometimes be really boring."  
"Well, you know my number." I gave her a smile and turned around to leave when I felt the phone going off in my jacket. It was Peppers number. "Is that a yes?"  
"Yes, I accept your offer and your proposal. But I have some conditions."  
"I knew it wouldn't go without it, but let's leave it for tomorrow, today's party time after all." Pepper smiled and turned her attention to Ryan, who just woke up. 

Emily's POV

Logan, Mia and I walked towards the parked black car. Over the past months Logan and I became great friends and he'd come around every time he could. He was right; today we'd be closing chapters and opening new ones. Mia jumped into the passenger seat, which was pushed forward to the point no human would be able to comfortably sit on and Logan took a seat next to me in the back of the car. When we finally arrived, the first thing I realized was the amount of people present. They couldn't see us. The guys closed the car and nodded at us. "We're going to get seated and tell the others we're good to start." Mia proudly held the basket in her mouth and wiggled her tail as we joined the walked towards the park, where the wedding was held.

Tony's POV

Jack run up saying we were ready to start. At least it meant Emily and Logan didn't run of together which was good, maybe she agreed on the aisle thingy too. Right now, I was at the front with the president. Jack ran back to the bridesmaids. Charles Xavier was looking around searching for any sign of Logan as were Hank and Ororo, when Bruno Mars's Marry you started playing. Pepper was sitting next to Clint, Laura and Nathaniel, bouncing baby Ryan. Falcon was sitting next to King T'Challa, taking the role of his bodyguard very seriously. Peter and his aunt May were in the front row. The first ones to walk down the aisle were Rhodey and Jenny, followed by Bruce and Natasha. Happy was with Katie, Vision with Marie, Jack and Raven, Maria Hill and John. The couples parted in the front, the guys lining up behind me and the girls went to stand on the other side. _Marry you_ faded away and was replaced by the tones of an instrumental version of _Everything I Do._ In the distance I saw Lila and Cooper with Mia between them. What followed them took mine and everyone's breath away. Emily was holding on to Logan's arm, slowly walking towards me, with the grace and elegance like she was walking on clouds. Her face was covered by a short veil, but I could tell she was smiling. They say everything happens for a reason. This moment is why Pep and I broke up. I still love her, but I love my best friend Emily, too. I couldn't hide the smile on my face anymore. Emily, the centre of all the attention right now, was going to be my wife. This time it would be for real.

Emily's POV

I can't even say how much I hate that everyone is looking at me. Logan keeps whispering funny comments about every single guest to keep me from running and hiding. No, I couldn't do that to Tony. He has a sincere smile on his face, the one he doesn't show often. Every step I take is one step closer to a new chapter in my life. Even though we both knew it wasn't going to be a long one, it would be worth it. Lila, Cooper and Mia all took their places in the front. President Ellis was saying something to Tony who was nodding. We finally reached them and the president spoke: "Well, it looks like we have a small change of plans here. So, who gives this woman away?"  
Logan pinned his chest up and said with pride he said: "I do, but I have something to say first. Anthony, if you break her heart, I make sure no one ever finds the pieces of your body." He extended his claws to make a point, causing Tony to take a step back and pale. "I see you got the message, well, take care and good luck. You two deserve some happiness." Logan put my hand in Tony's, lifted the front veil from my face and turned to leave, but Tony stopped him and told him to stay here in the front, which Logan accepted. The ceremony could continue. The guests were all sitting and Ellis took the word.  
"We are gathered here today to see these two tie the knot. Hopefully no world ending catastrophe will prevent us from doing so. All of us need and desire to love and to be loved. And the highest form of love between two people is within a monogamous, committed relationship. Marriage will allow you a new environment to share your lives together, standing together to face life and the world, hand-in-hand. Marriage is going to expand you as individuals, define you as a couple, and deepen your love for one another. To be successful, you will need strength, courage, patience and a really good sense of humor. Which there will be no lack off I suppose. Today promises become permanent and friends become family. If anyone knows a reason Emily and Tony shouldn't get married, you can say it now, but I really doubt any of them would listen." The crowd was laughing. Tony and I looked around to see if anyone dared. No one did, so the president turned to Tony and continued: "So let's get to the main part. Anthony Edward, do you take Emilianna Accalia to be your lawfully wedded wife?"  
Tony looked at me with a smile: "Of course I do."  
"Emilianna Accalia, do you take Anthony Edward to be your lawfully wedded husband?"  
"Yes, I do."  
"Now exchange the rings. The couple agreed to say their vows together. No pressure kids, take your time."  
Tony took both my hands in his and looked me in the eyes. We were ready:  
 _"From this day forward I promise you these things. I will laugh with you in times of joy and comfort you in times of sorrow. I will share in your dreams, and support you as you strive to achieve your goals. I will listen to you with compassion and understanding, and speak to you with encouragement. I will help you when you need it, and step aside when you don't.  
I will remain faithful to you for better or worse, in times of sickness and health. If you grow weak, I'll be there to fight your battles for you. I'll help you with your responsibilities and make your problems my own in order to spread the weight a bit more evenly. If you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, I'll be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you. You are my best friend and I will love and respect you always."_ The audience was tearing by the time we finished. After a while we looked at the president.  
"What? Oh, right I forgot. By the power given to me by the United States of America, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss." We didn't need to be told twice.

Tony's POV

I swung Emily around and leaned down to kiss her. Surely she didn't expect my move, but it felt right. The crowd cheered as we ended our kiss. I pulled Emily back so she stood upright again and the president said the one sentence I've been waiting to hear. "Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you Mr. and Mrs. Stark." There was clapping and laughter as we started to walk through the aisle. In the corner of my eye I saw Emily signaling something to John. ACDC started to blast through the speakers. For the second time today it was Highway to hell. This woman knows me. I leaned in and whispered:  
"You think this is a good choice for a wedding?"  
"Well, we can't exactly expect paradise in the future. Besides, I know you love this song."  
"True, Mrs. Stark, so true."

It was a few minutes and pictures later that the party began. Bruce even agreed to hulk out on some picks and Barton is looking forward to show Captain Traitor what he missed. This would be the coolest wedding pictures anyone ever had. Even Thor and Loki made it in today. Now it was time for our first dance as a married couple. It was tricky to agree on a song, because many of them weren't fitting. That was until we stumbled upon this one. The music started playing as I led Emily to the middle of the dance floor.

 _Well, here we are again  
I guess it must be fate  
We've tried it on our own  
But deep inside we've known  
We'd be back to set things straight  
I still remember when  
Your kiss was so brand new  
Every memory repeats  
Every step I take retreats  
Every journey always brings me back to you  
_Again it was our wedding day. The first time it got all messed up in our relationship. This time around it was different. Alright, the officiate is the same and Rhodey is here too, but first off all we weren't inside a cathedral (the town hall was under reconstruction at the time), second Aunt Peggy isn't here anymore and third this time it is for real. We fought and we came back to set it straight. No matter what happened, or how much pain I caused, she was always there. And I was there for her.

 _After all the stops and starts  
We keep coming back to these two hearts  
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall  
And after all that we've been through  
It all comes down to me and you  
I guess it's meant to be  
Forever you and me  
After all  
When love is truly right (this time it's truly right)  
It lives from year to year  
It changes as it goes  
Oh, and on the way it grows  
But it never disappears_

Some things just cannot disappear. Feelings for example. As we sway across the dance floor, she's looking at me with so much love in her eyes. So this is what happiness really feels like. The stops and starts made us stronger. _  
After all the stops and starts  
We keep coming back to these two hearts  
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall  
And after all that we've been through  
It all comes down to me and you  
I guess it's meant to be  
Forever you and me  
After all_

Two angels rescued from a fall, both metaphorically and literally. Ok, maybe we're not really angels, but after all that has happened we're glad to have each other. _  
Always just beyond my touch  
You know I needed you so much  
After all, what else is livin' for?  
After all the stops and starts  
We keep coming back to these two hearts  
Two angels who've been rescued from the fall  
And after all that we've been through  
It all comes down to me and you  
I guess it's meant to be  
Forever you and me  
After all  
_Emily pulled me down and gave me a soft kiss on the lips. Even with heels she's still shorter than me. Beyonce's Halo started playing. A few more dance moves wouldn't harm anyone. Some time after dinner everyone was sitting and the short program the boys from GNC together with the Avengers and some SHIELD agents, including Coulson and Fury was about to start. The men lined up on the dance floor and started dancing to a _Can't stop this feeling_ followed by _Men in Black_. I adore these guys. Now it was my time to shine. It was a surprise for Emily. I excused myself and made my way to the stage. Jack had the mike in his hand.  
"And now, the moment you all didn't know you were eagerly waiting for. Tony, the stage is yours."  
"Wow, now I actually see how many of you are here. This is kind of scary, I haven't done something like this before, but yeah, today's a special day. You know, Emily really loves this singer, his name's Josh Groban, but unfortunately he was already busy for today, so we had to come up with something else."

Emily's POV

Tony was onstage and I already had my suspicion as for where this was heading. That's the same guy who swore he'd never go and sing onstage. He looks so damn hot in that tux tonight. "Since the guy couldn't make it, I'm going to take his place tonight. Emily and I've known each other about 3 decades and for some reason she's still here. And, well, that's for you, Em. As for all those that threatened me today, listen carefully, because I mean every lyric in it. I hope you like it."

Tony sat down behind the piano and started singing. The first song was called _In her eyes_. In the background a slideshow made from old and new pictures was running. But he's wrong about something. He is a hero, to me and to the world. He's something else, special. Tony is my world, my everything. I love him, he's the greatest guy I ever met. When the song ended, I couldn't help myself. I ran to him and kissed him. "You know, you are wrong about one thing though."  
"Which would be?"  
"You are a hero, Tony Stark, and not just mine. I love you."  
"Thanks, now go sit down, princess, I have one more. "

Tony was smiling. The next song he picked was _When you say you love me._ As he sang he slowly walked off the stage never letting his eyes of mine. The audience was impressed. Surely this was one of Tony's best kept secrets. When the song was coming to an end, he took me to the center of the dance floor: " _When you say you love me, do you know that I love you."_  
"I know." I said smirking. Tony returned the microphone and enjoyed the applauding audience. Few hours later everyone was having a good time. I changed into a shorter dress and got rid of the veil, keeping the diadem. Tony's jacket and bowtie were on the table. Bruce was dancing with Natasha, Rhodey got a hold of Jenny and Tony had his hands around Peppers waist, which Happy, who was standing next to Vision and I at the bar wasn't very fond of.  
"Relax, Happy. At least they aren't fighting anymore."  
"Tell me, how are you so content with being the second choice?"  
"Excellent question, Happy. I lived a long life and I learned a very important lesson. Sometimes you have to make the best out of what you get, no matter how bad it seems and sometimes you get the best. But no matter what happens, there will always be the one friend who has your back."  
"I don't get it."  
"Yeah, me neither. That's why I usually don't drink. Basically, maybe being the second choice isn't bad. We married our best friends whom we love and who love us, what more could we ask for."  
"That's true. Well, to love, friendship and family."  
"Love, friendship and family. That's all that matters after all. Now, who wants to dance?"  
Happy motioned to Ryan, who was napping, so I turned my attention to my victim, Vision.  
"Oh, you won't be standing here all night." I grabbed his hand before he could protest. He must have thrown a very funny face, because Happy was laughing hard.

After I showed Viz some basic steps, we danced. He kept apologizing all the time so after two songs I released him and we returned to the table, where Tony was already waiting along with Falcon and T'Challa, who were visibly tired. "I was getting worried, you'd run of with Vision."  
"How do you know it wasn't my intention?" Another teasing round was about to start. Tony picked up the metaphorical glove and walked towards me with a smirk. He closed the distance between us and pulled me close with one arm. This was Tony, the predator.  
"Was it?" He won, I couldn't resist him anymore. His eyes are so hypnotizing.  
"No, it wasn't." His look softened. He planted a soft kiss on my lips. The DJ announced the upcoming end of the party. I didn't even realize it was already 5 AM  
"May I have this one last dance?"  
"I thought you'd never ask."  
"I love you."  
"I love you, too."

 **Wow, longest chapter yet. A big** _ **Thank you**_ **goes to all my readers for still sticking to this story. I love you all. Stay tuned, the big battle is getting closer, but first there will be some interesting challenges for our heroes to face.**


	43. Big Secret Meeting - part 1

Chapter 43- Big Secret Meeting - part 1

It was Tuesday afternoon and all the Avengers including Clint, Sam and T'Challa were gathered in the living room. Laura and the kids left already, because school had yet to end. Emily promised to drop Clint of later. Loki left for Asgard, at least that's what he said. Since Tony wasn't really angry at anyone besides Cap, alright maybe he was a bit hurt, but he wasn't showing it, he and Clint were having a friendly conversation.

"So what else besides this cool mansion is new here?"  
"Let's see. We have a big Expo up. Loki is now an ally of ours, well kind of. I'm 35 again. Bruce and Hulk are finally buddies. We fight under the lady's command. Those guys you met are also our teammates; they are just assigned to other teams. Nick's in charge of SHIELD and we are still dealing with the UN about you guys while trying to deal with the fact that we met an alien who wants to kill us all. Everything is awesome. What about you?"

"You've been busy. Cap will flip if he finds out we told you about this, he doesn't want anything to do with the IPA, but we are stuck at the dead end for far too long. They know what we're talking about; we've sworn them to secrecy."  
Em looked at Tony. "Don't worry, we knew they were hiding something."  
"Yeah, guys, maybe snooping around in the database that keeps access records, not such a brilliant idea. So what were you searching for, because those were definitely searching for princesses. Not the Disney kind." Em said sitting down next to Tony.  
"Infinity stones. According to Thor, they are embed in a crown. They should be able to bend time and space. Cap can't know we told you about this, but we aren't making any progress."  
"Yeah, it's diadem not a crown. There's a bit of a difference there. The 4 stones are this bluish green color."  
"How would you know that, Tony?"

"You saw it yesterday. That's actually what we wanted to talk about with you, Avengers. Who wants a snack?" With that Tony walked to the kitchen.  
"I knew you were still alive, my child." Said Thor, leaving everyone with their mouth hanging open and Tony spitting whatever he was drinking all over the kitchen counter.  
"Thor, I hate to disappoint you, but I was born on Earth."  
"Yes, you were. My older sister lived here on Earth. Not even Loki knew about her existence. I learned about her on accident, Father was very angry. She fell in love with a human and was banned from Asgard. Everyone was forbidden to speak about her. I don't even know what she looked like. Do you know what happened to her?"  
"She died when I was 16. Someone killed her. After that I ran away from home. Then the First World War started." To say all of them were confused would be an understatement.

Tony was wiping the counter trying to make sense of everything.  
"So, to sum it up, Emily's a mutant demigod infinity stone guardian and your niece?"  
"Yes." Emily was lost in thoughts. Tony poking her didn't have any effect. "Em, Emi, Emily. Earth to the chocolate monster. Emilianna!" Emily finally jumped up and covered her ears. "Ouch, Tony! What the hell?"  
"Sorry, you weren't reacting. You ok?"  
"Yeah, just lost in thoughts I guess. It explains a lot."  
"Not to be rude, you just seem too calm about it."  
"I had my suspicion when Heimdall called me your Highness and said he's been keeping an eye on me for a long time. He may have mentioned I had asgardian blood and something about the king and queen having to do with it. On top of that, let's be honest, it's not normal to have that many secondary mutations."  
"So, you're just ok with it?" Tony was looking her directly in the eyes, he didn't believe her.  
"How did you like the party?" She said with a smile Tony identified as fake. The quick change of the topic only assured him about it.

"Very much, thanks for having us here. It was cool. Stark, since when can you sing like that?"  
"Since I was a kid, my mom taught me how to play the piano and sing. It's nothing special, really, I just knew Em here likes it. The guy was really busy by the way, that wasn't a lie. Anyone fancy a drink?" Tony said to Clint and walked to the bar. He always had a way to get out of conversation. No matter how hard Emily tried, Tony still wasn't used to being praised for his actions.  
"Emily, you mentioned a big meeting. What will that be about?" Bruce asked curiously.  
"Good question. The meeting will be about our upcoming crisis, aka big bad purple alien. Participating will be minimum 1 from every team the IPA has in addition to our soloists, like T'Challa here. Smaller teams are usually participating whole in addition to some of our spies and scientists. Those who aren't going to be there in person will be with us via satellite broadcast using special encrypted satellites and live chat in case they have suggestions. You are going whether you like it or not."  
"How many people will there be?"  
"To this day we have 800 participants confirmed. "  
"Damn, that's many people. Where is that taking place? On a stadium?"  
"No, the IPA conference centre. I hope you brought something warm to wear." said Emily with a devilish grin.

 **Thursday morning**

"Boys, come on. Em already dispatched the cargo. We are waiting for you." Said Natasha, not happy about being woken up at 4AM and having to wait for her teammates outside. Emily joined her on the ramp after making the last checks in the cabin. "You know, this is typical. Unless we go on a mission, they tend to take their time."  
"Well, that's not necessarily good, is it."  
"No, if they had packed properly yesterday, we could be waking up at 5 not at 4AM."  
"Remind me to give them hell for that later."  
"I don't think I'll have to." Emily said, waving towards Nick Fury who was approaching them.  
"Ladies, when are we taking off?"  
"As soon as the men decide to join us. Bruce and Vision are eating in the kitchen and Rhodey is trying to get Tony out of bed, I think. I'm going to guess 30 minutes."  
"You're optimistic."  
"No, if they aren't here in 15 minutes, I'm going to drag them here. Even Thor, T'Challa and Sam are ready to go and we still have to land at GNC for the rest of my boys."  
Clint decided to spend some time with his kids instead of participating.  
"Just asking, boss, but where is the base located?" asked Nick as the final members of the Avengers boarded the jet.  
"Antarctica, near the south pole. We had it built 10 years ago, because of a really big expansion on our side and the capacities of the meeting halls or conference places were small. Besides, we needed neutral ground. Sometimes it would become a problem with visa or something else. "  
"There is no base there, our satellites would know about it." Nick took his seat next to Emily, who was lifting the jet from the ground.  
"Not if it was underground. That thing is basically a giant nuclear bunker. It's constructed to withstand a few nukes."  
"We wanted to build an outpost there for years, how on Earth did you get them to agree on that?"  
"Well, you get the summit together, negotiate till both sides are satisfied and you win. We said they can hide there in case of war. Neutral ground, as I said."  
"How many did you get to agree?"  
"192."  
"That's almost every country in the world."  
"We've got the same number on the IPA accords."

5 hours later the team reached Antarctica. Thor and Emily spent the entire trip chatting and getting to know each other. Jack was telling the others about some of the first missions with Tony. Emily opened the panorama floor allowing the passengers to take a look on the frozen land of the southern pole. It wasn't usually meant for sightseeing, but why not make an exception. The hatch of the hangar opened and the jet parked to the garage.  
"Well, welcome to the Antarctica outpost. Now follow me to your rooms to sector C3."  
"Why don't we start at the A?" asked Tony trailing behind Emily.  
"A is the conference hall. B is the sector with food, a gym, greenhouse, medical facility and other stuff. I'll give you a full tour once we get settled, there is still some time till the cargo arrives and everyone else." As they walked through the corridors, Emily continued talking.

"Sector C3 consists of 12 rooms. Each room is made for 4 people with sleep capsules. They're on top of each other like bunk beds. They each have a TV and I thought they'd be more stable. Also there are common showers for each block, so ours are right here. Later the X-Men and a group from Colorado will join us here. Oh, one more thing. The toilets are unisex, boys, please put the toilet seat down when you finish, ok?" Finally the group of 24 people divided. Emily, Natasha, Maria and Jenny agreed to share a room together, despite protests from Tony.

Just a few hours after their arrival the previously empty centre was buzzing with life. Everyone was getting settled in their rooms, the kitchen was making dinner and our Avengers were exploring the compound. Well, most of them. Tony was busy leaning against the railing in front of their sector and observing Emily as she said Hi to all her arriving team mates, both male and female. It was the males he was worried about, those body builders.  
"They're really hot." Tony turned to look at the intruder.  
"You know what, Romanoff. Do you want one of them?"  
"Maybe. Have you seen the crew from Australia? Those guys are like Thor. They have big muscles, a perfect tan and are probably what females would call dream men."  
"Then how come you aren't down there trying to catch one of them for yourself?"  
"Oh, no. That's not my style. I'll wait till they come to me, they always do."  
"Whatever, I'm going to the labs. Wipe your mouth, you're drooling."  
Natasha quickly put her hand to her mouth, only to hear Tony laughing hard in the distance. He finally got her and he was going to pay for it.

Emily couldn't be happier when the last jet parked and its crew left for their rooms. At midnight after hours of exchanging hellos and talking to all her teammates, taking in so many different scents and noises she was glad when she heard everything quiet down. She liked those people, she really did, they were great, but this was the other, less comfortable side effect of her heightened senses. You hear everything, smell everything, see details and as if that wasn't enough, feel their emotions. Sometimes it was just too much to handle. Slowly she made her way through the corridors of the Antarctica base, also called the snow globe. The entrance hall was in the centre of it, directly above the conference hall and below the translucent dome where the sun shone through. Emily looked up and saw Tony waving down at her. She waved back and walked to the staircase. Tony turned to her as she walked towards him still leaning against the railing.  
"Hey."  
"Hey, how was your day?"  
"Good. I sniffed in the labs, mine are better, but they'll do."  
"Oh, come on. The newest equipment is 2 years old, I admit, but it's the best of that time."  
"Yeah, well, I talked to Thor. He said he met some guys in outer space. They call themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy. They could be helpful. But you know what's the weirdest thing about it?"  
"What?"  
"One of them is Thanos daughter."  
"Wow, we should talk to those guys."  
"I know. Thor and I already talked that through and he said he'll introduce us."  
"I'm impressed, since when do you act as my PA?"  
"Ha, ha, very funny. Anyway, how was your day?"  
"It was ok, not as fruitful as yours, but not boring either. Almost everyone is here now, Dr. Strange is coming in tomorrow morning…"  
"This morning. It's past midnight already."  
"Ok, this morning. I'm glad everyone could make it."  
"Should I be worried about someone? Just kidding. We should probably get some sleep, but I don't want to." Tony said as he wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulder.  
"Me neither. But we managed before, right? Besides, it's already morning."  
"True." Together they walked towards their quarters. When they stopped in front of the girls room, they just stopped and kept looking at each other for a while. Tony gave Em a kiss on the forehead and whispered "Goodnight." Emily gave him a hug. "Goodnight, Tony."  
She watched as he walked across the hall to his room and opened the door. He looked back with a smile once again before closing the door behind him.

The conference was ready to start and people were taking their seats. A portal opened and Dr. Steven Strange entered the conference centre.  
"Hello! I would have come earlier but the traffic on the astral plane sucked."  
"Hello, Dr. Strange. Welcome to Antarctica." said Emily, checking off his name on the list.  
"It is a pleasure. Congrats on your wedding, by the way, although you just said farewell to your freedom and other great opportunities. Like me, for example." Emily couldn't say she wasn't used to this kind of attitude. She married Tony after all.  
"What about Christine, Stevie?"  
"She's still sticking to the Strange policy. Do not call me Stevie."  
"Or what? Go and sit down. Tony's already looking forward to chat and Thor is there as well."  
"Good."  
Emily let out a sigh. At least she wouldn't have to be sitting between them hearing snarky comments from both sides. It scared her how much alike they were. If Strange also had a nice side like Tony did, she didn't know. However Tony was inside more like a child, as he had the emotional intelligence of a teenager. It was now time for the conference to start.

"Welcome everyone; I'm delighted to see how many of you are in attendance. I'm going to get straight to the point so none of you will fall asleep. Assuming you all saw the footage we sent you, you already know what we are up against. Just to remind you it's this guy and his army." An image of Thanos popped up on the big screen behind her.  
"Our main priority will be to protect the citizens of Earth, minimalize civilian casualties. What we'll be facing will be nothing like the fights here on Earth. It won't be easy and I won't force any of you to fight. Now, with the newest information we got we know Thanos is on a killing spree. He does not give a damn about the damage he causes, in fact he's trying to kill as many as possible. I'm still not sure why. Anyway, the next thing. He wants infinity stones. Powerful stones, if they're put together they are capable on destroying the universe and every realm and dimension. Thanos already got his hands on the Tesseract, the Reality stone and the Power stone. Currently we have the Mind stone, the Time stone and the Dimension stones here on Earth. We don't know if he knows or what he knows. In other words he now holds the upper hand…"  
Until the afternoon they managed to make a plan on what to do in case of attack, only applying to Earth and its citizens. Then until the evening they discussed the latest happening in the world. The terrorist attacks, wars, vigilantes.  
"I have a question here."  
"Yes, Pierre."  
"What should we do about the group of vigilantes around Captain America?"  
"What exactly do you mean?"  
"Well, the UN has them listed as a worldwide security threat; however they never exactly said we should arrest them. Like they're hesitating or something."

"That's because they're still embarrassed because the security they hired failed spectacularly, released secret information to the public without checking first and did not even look who they hired. But Germany's after them big. The damage on the airport was unnecessary and too big."  
"Yes. That is true. So, if they enter Germany we have to arrest them."  
"Yes, as well as Romania, France, Canada, Australia, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Dubai, Brazil and Argentina. The other countries haven't given any order to arrest or withdrew it if they come as civilians. But they are leaning on Germany's side, so if they come to fight there, arrest them."  
"Alright, just trying to make sense of it, because this past weeks have been a mess when it comes to this. Thank you for clearing this up. I'm still not a fan of Captain America's behavior, and it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm French. What about accountability?" Another one of his teammates, Hans from Germany joined the discussion.  
"Accountability, that's what the accords are about. It's one thing to admit something was your fault, but it's another to take responsibility for what you did and help repair the damages. Correct me if I'm wrong, but while the Avengers were under Shield, they paid for the damage and Shield took responsibility because they sent them. After that it was Stark who paid for everything and was taking responsibility for the damage, but Captain America was the self proclaimed leader. There was something seriously wrong with that, wasn't it?"  
The whole room was nodding. Hans had a point, Sam wanted to disappear and the Avengers were exchanging worried glances and Tony had his thinking face on and was starring at the wall. The emotions were mixing and Emily knew she had to act.  
"Alright, how about we all take a short time off; we'll meet here again in 20 minutes, okay."

Tony stormed out of the room…


	44. Big Secret Meeting - part 2

**Hi, everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying the summer. The next chapter is almost ready and will be posted soon. Stay tuned, it's about to get tricky.**

Chapter 44 - Big Secret Meeting - part 2

Tony's POV

In the distance I heard Emily's voice. I ran up the staircase to our sector and leaning against the wall I slid down to the ground covering my head with my hands. Everything they said, it was so true it hurt. It's like Obadiah all over again. How can I have fallen for the same old game again? It's not that something like this didn't cross my mind, I just didn't want it to be true. I feel like I'm dying, my chest is aching and my arms are shaking. Alright, relax, just breathe in, breath out, repeat. Breathe, I couldn't breathe, my skin was burning. Just then I felt someone touch my hands, gently, softly, whispering soothing words.  
"Shh, Tony, it's me, calm down, honey. It will be ok, alright, it will be fine. You will be fine, can you hear me?" She pressed my head against her chest. I could hear her heart beat. I don't know why, but it always calms me down. My mother used to do that when I was little, if I had a nightmare or after yet another round of my father being abusive. My mother or my aunt Peggy. I think that's where Emily learned this trick. I slowly opened my eyes. My god, I just had a breakdown in front of the IPA, king T'Challa, Wilson, Fury, Hill and my team. Well, Rhodey already saw one before so that doesn't count.  
"You look a little pale. Better?" she said with a smile while she looked down at me.  
"Yeah, thanks. I guess I just embarrassed myself in front of all important people."  
"No, they think you were pissed, that's why you stormed out."  
"Are you sure that's what they think?"  
"Do you want me to check?" she said, smiling. It was then when I noticed Bruce, Rhodey and Vision standing over us. I stood up and put up a grin.  
"Sorry about that. It was nothing, just silly…"  
"Tony, don't apologize when there's nothing to apologize for. In fact we should probably be the ones apologizing." Rhodey looked down on the ground.  
"No, there's no need for that."  
"Yes, there is. We should have done something and noticed you weren't all right no matter what you said. Back when we were in the bar, when you ran out just like that, I should have known. Sorry weren't the best friends after all you've done for us." Rhodey stopped and Bruce took over.  
"Rhodey's right, we should have done something. You tried to reach out, but no one was listening. If we had, things could have been different. We are all very sorry." Vision nodded in the back. The android was still getting accustomed to human behavior.  
"You guys are the best friends I could ask for. Now I really need coffee. How much time do we have left?" I asked Emily, whom I held to my side with my hand.  
"15 minutes, which is more than enough for coffee or a snack."  
"Good, let's go."

We met up with Jack at the cafeteria. Jack, the leader of the WP1 is not only a friend or former trainer of mine; he's also a psychologist Emily made me see after my little show at Peps wedding. She made me see him before, but it was the first time she used kind of drastic measures. She locked me up in his office, I had no other choice, but in hindsight I have to thank her for that.  
"Hey, is our Tones alright?"  
"Yeah, I'm good."  
"If you want to chat about it, you know where I am."  
"Yes, I was locked up there."  
"If you hadn't been so stubborn, we wouldn't have to team up on you. Besides, that's what friends are for."  
"Thanks anyway." We finished our coffee and turned back to the hall. Widow was standing outside with Wilson and T'Challa was on the phone.  
"Stark. Are you calm enough to sit still in there or do you want to throw a tantrum?"  
"You know what Romanoff… Just leave it. I'd rather trust Loki with my personal stuff than you."  
"Ouch, that hurt." Widow said sarcastically.  
She turned and entered the room. Wilson looked unsure what or if he should say something, so he followed Natasha. 

Third person's POV

After the short break the discussion concerning the Captains team continued where they left it. However soon it moved from collateral damage to going over individuals. But not before going over everything that happened in Europe. The main question was: Are or are they not a global threat?  
"Look, guys. They had no right to fight in Europe, needless to use a busy airport as a battle field. At least team Iron Man here had enough sense to evacuate it in advance. What I mean is what gave Rogers the right to fight in Romania and kill several police officers or those civilians on the road? I'll tell you what, nothing! Those were people who had families. It could have been us or our families. The guys on the Raft, some of them were our people."  
T'Challa's arguments were interesting as well:  
"They aren't bad people, they just made mistakes. Sergeant Barnes was a victim of mind control. Captain Rogers is a soldier who wants to do things right. The others chose what they thought was right. While I agree that it could have gone much more peaceful, the captain was protecting his friend." Tony thought about what T'Challa said and for the first time he chose to voice his opinion as well.  
"He did, but Your highness, was it right to kill so many people because of one guy? Was it right to go against his team when they wanted to help from making the situation worse? You were there, you saw that he didn't even think about going with us. Let's beat them all up, because that always works well. Let's not care about the few destroyed planes, someone throwing a fuel truck at Rhodey and Nat or Wanda burying me under a bunch of cars from the parking lot or Nat stopping you from capturing them. Let's talk something else here. What gave him the right to keep from me that his buddy killed my parents? Bucky was mind controlled, but Rogers wasn't. It isn't Bucky I'm pissed at nor Capsicles team, it's the person who betrayed me and that's Steve Rogers."  
The room fell silent. T'Challa was thinking about what Tony just said. Sam thought about the time they managed to capture Bucky and Steve said they wouldn't call Tony because he wouldn't believe them. Would he have?  
The silence turned into a heated discussion. Tony kept his mouth shut for the rest of it. Any attempt on calming the situation down failed miserably. Fortunately it was getting late and soon the conference would be over. Emily used a small window of opportunity to calm everything a little before closing the conference:  
"Well, while it's good that we agree on something, I think it's time to stop before this gets out of control. Mr. Rogers made his choice, which he considered right, although if you give it a rational thought, it wasn't. I don't think he is a bad person, but he made some very stupid and very dangerous choices. We have to thank him though. I would have preferred a way with less spilled blood, but he proved to the entire world why the accords were necessary in the first place. How about a round of applause for that?" Even Emily could be sarcastic if needed. So could all her teams. The room clapped.  
"Good. Look people, I wanted to see that guy behind bars more than anyone of you. He almost killed my best friend. He killed innocent people and those doing their jobs, not to mention those working on the Raft. The US might allow them back into the states, because they owe the first Avengers team a big debt for saving NYC and probably the rest of the world. We can't take that from them. That's just so that everyone is informed. In your countries, you are free to arrest them. But be careful, we don't really know what they are capable now. You all know how things get with power in wrong hands. Well, anyone has anything to say?"  
She waited for a few minutes and after no one said anything, she continued:  
"If nothing else, I declare this conference closed. Thanks everyone for participating and for sharing your ideas and thoughts. I assume everyone will do the right thing when judgment day comes and in case this is the last time we see each other it's been an honor to meet every single one of you. I certainly hope we'll meet again next year. Good luck on your missions. Thank you!" Emily descended the stairs with a round of applause following her.  
"Nice speech you had there."  
"Thanks, Tony. It could have been better."  
"Nah, you'll get to it."

Some hours later the delegations started to leave. By midnight, everyone besides the Avengers was gone. Emily was doing a last check of the base, to make sure no one would be left behind while her teammates were waiting in the jet. Tony was the co-pilot for the flight.  
"Well, we're good to go, you can start." Emily said as she entered the jet.  
"Really?"  
"Yes, you'll be the pilot for the flight. I'll just help out if needed. I have faith in you."  
"Sure, boss. Engines 1 and 2 online, starting 3 and 4. Takeoff in a minute." Of course Tony's flown before, he was Ems first student on the Phoenix, but this was the first time he was going on a long distance flight and his first time without Emily having her hands on the main controller. He had the main controller. Slowly the jet lifted from the ground and left the hangar. The hatch behind it closed and all lights inside the base went out.

"If you're tired or want to switch up, just say it."  
"Alright. Ahm, just for clarification, first the autopilot and then the hyper drive or the other way around?"  
"What do you think?"  
"I think it's that way. The autopilot should stabilize the jet in high speed and make quicker decisions than the pilot."  
"Correct."  
"So I can turn it on, right?"  
"You can, but aren't you forgetting something? Like perhaps, where are we going?"  
"Right, Jarvis, set path to home base."  
 _"Of course, sir."_ Tony was really glad to hear Jarvis, although it could be a bit scary with Vision on board as well.

Some hours later with a short stop at GNC they safely landed next to the Avengers Mansion. Clint was already waiting for them. Natasha decided she would go with them. Thor decided to stay and get to know his niece better. Once they left, Emily turned to her boys.  
"So, what do you guys suggest we do now?"  
"Sleep." was a collective answer.

It was early morning in Wakanda. Steve Rogers and Wanda Maximoff were standing at the window watching the Quinjet land. They were pleasantly surprised to see Natasha exit the plane as well.

The group soon entered the room they were in, which woke Scott up.  
"Wow, look who's back! How was your holiday, ours was awesome. We didn't do a thing."  
"You missed out a great party and a private tour through a secret IPA base." Said Sam throwing his bag into the corner of the room.  
"Yeah, it was great. I got to spend some time with my kids." Clint sat down on the sofa.  
"What about Tony and his team? Did you meet them too?" Asked Steve, not taking his eyes off the window so the others couldn't see the sad look in his eyes.  
"Yeah, we did. They are good. They have this new mansion with a big pool and a water slide down the hill to another pool, a pet raccoon, a flamingo and a wolf. I got to pet it. "  
"So you're saying that Stark didn't kick your ass the second you got out the jet and welcomed you into his house just like nothing happened and you got to go to a party? Nah, I don't think that's true. It's Stark we are talking about. You never trust a Stark." said Scott.  
"Scott is right, we can't trust him. Not after what he did to us. He locked me at the compound and then we ended up in a prison in the middle of the ocean."  
"Wanda, come on, we chose this. By the way Scott, if your worry is a Stark, then it doubled, because there are two. One is female. The members of the IPA were nice and polite, Tony behaved well and the party we've been to was his wedding." Clint said as he flipped through the channels. It also caused Steve to turn away from the window.  
"Really? Pepper took him to mercy?"  
"No idea, but they were talking. Peppers son Ryan is cute. He is like 3 months old."  
"Ha, so I was right after all."  
"About?"  
"Pepper being pregnant."  
Clint was confused by this, but Natasha picked up on what was going on. She had heard the conversation between Steve and Tony.  
"No, Steve. Ryan is adopted. Pepper got married to Happy last August. Tony married someone else. But they did bury their battle axe at the wedding day."  
"Did he cheat on her?"  
"Not that I knew of. Why?"  
"Just that she married so sudden and so did he. I'm guessing he asked the first girl he could find and decided to do it because he was pissed and jealous. And well, what woman wouldn't fall for his money. We all know he's a playboy. She's probably a gold-digger."  
"You better not say that out loud in front of him or his wife; it could cost you your face, dignity, some organs and maybe your life. Just so you know, Emily is his business partner and she's a really nice person. That's something I don't say often. They were classmates or something like that. He loves her more than anything and she loves him with all the flaws he has. Also, she's the director of the IPA, which makes me pretty sure she can kick ass. Oh, and you probably shouldn't say something like this in front of Thor either."  
"He likes her? I don't care, did you guys find something about the crown?" Steve turned towards Clint and Sam.  
"Hmm, yeah. The guys did search the database, but didn't find anything besides historic facts. So we did exactly what you forbid us to do and told Stark and…Stark the truth. We pulled the IPA into it and hoped that more people would probably have a better chance of finding something." Finished Sam and Clint took over.  
"Emily and Tony said they knew about Bruce and Rhodey sniffing around as the database keeps access records, including who searched what. We told them we wanted to find an old crown that has infinity stones in it. Stark said we weren't supposed to be searching for a crown but a diadem. Then he described how the stones looked like and said we saw it at the wedding. It was Emily's diadem. We can call the search off. They had it the entire time. We should have just called him and we wouldn't have had to risk being arrested."  
"Stark and infinity stones. We should probably prepare for Ultron 2.0. If he knew about them why did he never mention anything about it or this friend of his?"said Wanda showing no emotion in her voice. Natasha then remembered something.  
"He did. We shut him up. When you joined the Avengers, after the battle with Ultron in Sokovia, he said that he had a friend that could help you out with controlling your powers. What did you say to him?"  
"That I don't need his help. I can handle myself."  
"Steve said if you handled it until now you'll be good for the future and told him to leave it like that. Clint agreed, so did I. Oh, and one of you asked since when he had friends. I think I get why."  
"Care to share, Nat?"  
"The same reason you didn't tell anyone about your family, Clint. To protect her. After the three weeks I was there, I don't think any of us knew Tony Stark."  
Steve sighed and sat next to Natasha: "We did. He's stubborn; he fights for himself, does what he wants to and doesn't care about consequences. He behaves like a child, is egocentric and doesn't listen to others. Also he's not responsible and not much of a team player. He's a genius, likes to point it out and never loses his grin. He reminds me of his dad. He was a great guy. Didn't you write that he was not recommended to the Avengers?"  
"Yes, I did. The Avengers initiative was scrapped after that anyway, so it didn't matter. Emily said something to me about him. I'm still thinking about it. She said we only saw what he wanted us to see."  
"Do you believe her?"  
"Well, she's known him way longer than we have. I think 30 years. Why are you so tense, by the way?"  
"T'Challa said his friend was here and erased the Winter Soldier program from Bucky's brain. He also made him a new arm so we can unfreeze him. We'll start this evening. When Stark finds out he's out of ice, he'll want to get him."  
"Steve, he knows. He was here when they did that."  
"No, we would have known that."  
"We did, we just didn't say. You were out at the time. It was only Clint, Thor and I. It was at the time he got transformed into a baby. But he remembers everything, so he knows. Steve, T'Challa's friend was Emily. She said one less assassin in the world creates a better world. Now, let's talk about something more interesting than Starks love life. We saw Coulson and Fury dancing…"

On the other side of the world, the Avengers were (some of them finally) peacefully napping. None of them knew what the next few days would bring… 


	45. Back to business

Chapter 45- Back to business

Where there once was Sokovia, there now was a giant hole. It was filled with water from the nearby river. Well, not entirely. Under a thick coating of rubles and stones a vibranium plate provided protection to the ones under it. Troops were marching through the halls of the facility. Each one of the soldiers looked like all others. They weren't human, they were made out of metal. Their eyes were glowing red, the face masks spread fear. Out of all present, two were different. One was more or less human with black hair, a helmet with horns and an evil grin holding a scepter. The other was a robot made out of vibranium. They were standing over a hall full of robots transporting various materials around. Loki looked at Ultron.  
"They are weak now, torn apart. We will win this fight and take over the planet. Thanos will be most pleased."  
"We will wipe them out once and for all."  
"Exactly, but we have to have a little more patience. If they team up, we could lose. If they are busy fighting each other, we will win. How come you didn't think of this?"  
"How come your idea didn't work then?"  
"I couldn't control Stark. He doesn't have the reactor anymore, he's weak."  
"You don't have your mindstone either. It's up to me then."  
"He does have a great weakness. He got married. His wife is a good target. She used to have powers, but they're gone. Captain America has Bucky. If we used this to plot their whole teams against each other, they would be destroyed and the earth would be free for us to rule. It will be up to you, I have to keep my cover. Don't mess it up like last time."  
"Look who's talking. Should I remind you about New York?"  
Loki left through a portal to Asgard and Ultron looked over his bots with a robotic grin. Stark would pay and this time he'd be begging for mercy.

 _ **Meanwhile in Wakanda**_

Black Widow, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes were seated around the table. The others were playing cards.  
"So, what did you figure out about this IPA, Nat?"  
"Well, they have a damn good security system. I couldn't get into their servers."  
"You got nothing then."  
"I wouldn't say that. I got to see their HQ. They have 4 teams of 10 people + the Avengers stationed there. It's between New York and DC about 30 minutes from the Avengers base, if you drive according to speed limits. The teams cover those two cities, while they are occasionally being called away to help out worldwide. But mostly they help out the local police or provide security on big events like international summits. The alliance covers about 200 teams all around the globe, most of which already belonged to Emily's company, GlobalNet Corporation. Others were groups or individuals that accepted the Sokovia Accords thereby creating a network of crime fighters. When Stark gave me a tour of the base, he said that they have access to every piece of information from partner countries."  
"Stark gave you a tour? How is he doing anyway?"  
"According to his own words, better than ever. He walks around with a grin plastered on his face, does his job as the CEO, goes to meetings, builds armors and spends time with his family. He said they'd go on a tour to Europe in a week or so, travel through the Expos he has there and see his little cousin again. I didn't even know he had one. Oh, and he's in love."  
"Yeah, you mentioned it was his wedding this week. He married this Emily, his business partner and I assume the director of IPA."  
"You're correct. All we have to do now is wait till we're cleared back to the US. Oh, and the IPA doesn't like you very much. Mostly, they're pissed because of what went on in Romania and Germany."  
"Are they? Well, where were they?"  
"Good question. I asked Em about it. The special forces that went for Bucky were allied forces to the IPA so teams of GNC weren't needed. The UN got the Austrian army for the summit in Vienna and Tony said we'd go easy on you in Leipzig and didn't want outside intervention. I promised to call when we landed, damn."  
"Put her on speaker, Nat." said Clint, sitting down at the table.

"Hey, Emily. Natasha here."  
 _"Hi, I was wondering when you'd call. How was the flight?"  
_ "The flight? Awfully long. " Before Natasha could continue she was interrupted by a sound of explosion.  
 _"A second, I have to find out who blew the lab up this time… Nick, what was that?"_ Fury's response wasn't audible, Emily's was.  
 _"Didn't I tell you not to test energy weapons inside? We have a giant backyard, you have tons of space and targets so why the expensive labs? Tony's in the shop working on his armor. Alright, I'll send him. Well, where were we, Nat?"  
_ "You're definitely not bored, are you? What are you up to?"  
 _"I'm actually on my way to work. You?"  
_ "Isn't it Saturday? I'm with the guys, Steve here is really curious about you."  
 _"You sure? I can hear him growling."  
_ "Yeah, he doesn't like me trying to hook him up with someone, but you're taken anyway. What about your troops?"  
 _"Teams are back on track. We had 10 missions just last night and that's only my district."_  
"You guys covered that?"  
 _"No, WP 2 and 4 did. We have one planned for tonight in Angola and tomorrow in Russia."_

"You'll be close to us. Good luck then."  
 _"Thanks, call again soon. I'll come drop Thor at the end of next week. Sorry about what you heard in Antarctica, I should have shut them up."  
_ "Well, they had a point. The whole situation could have been handled differently."  
 _"Yeah, I wish we'd have met under different circumstances."  
_ "So do I. See you next week then."  
 _"See you. Stay safe, guys."_  
Natasha ended the call and looked at Steve. To him, the girl sounded far too young. He would make sure to be there when Thor arrives.

 **A week later**

Emily's POV

"Do I have to go too?" I rolled my eyes and looked at Tony.  
"Take a guess. We are only stopping in Wakanda, Tones, and then we're going to Oslo. We'll just drop Thor off, I won't force you to go and talk to Cap or anything. T'Challa invited us over, we'll only stay a few minutes. An hour tops."  
Tony closed the cargo bay, ran up to the passenger area and kissed my cheek. "Thanks, you're the best." Thor took his seat and secured Mjolnir on the other one, which amused Tony. We waved to the boys one last time before rising to the blue sky. I have no idea how we'll manage for 3 whole weeks without them. Somehow they grew to me over the past year. For decades I managed on my own, coming home to an empty apartment or house or just stayed in the office for days in the row. Ever since I'm with the Avengers, I can't imagine going back to that old life. They are like a family whom you love to come home to, even if they drive you crazy.  
It was late afternoon when we landed in Wakanda. Thor was the first one to leave the jet. I saw him waving at somebody. Tony was, well, conflicted.  
"Well, Thor's out, we can go. You know who's here and I don't want to ruin my mood."  
"T'Challa wants to see us, Tony. You can stay here, I'll be just a minute." I headed to the exit.  
"Woah, no way in hell I'm letting you go there alone." He said as he grabbed my arm.  
"Come with me, then."  
"If you say so. May I offer you my arm, my lady?"  
"Of course you may. And I'll gladly accept." Tony put his sunglasses on and we walked down the ramp in style. With the remote I closed the jet and we walked towards the palace arm in arm. I noticed a few people watching us through the panorama window. They weren't from here, that was for sure. The King of Wakanda personally greeted us at the front door.  
"It is a pleasure to welcome you in Wakanda Mr. and Mrs. Stark."  
"Your Highness, the pleasure is on our side." Said Tony, shaking T'Challas hand.  
"Enough with the formalities. Let's go inside, a storm is coming. Thor is already settling in and there is someone who'd like to talk to you."  
"Who?"  
"Sergeant Barnes. He's waiting in the meeting room."  
"With both of us?"  
"Yes, with both. Captain America is not aware of that. He however is curious about you."  
"Cap or Bucky?"  
"I guess both. Mainly the Captain."  
"Well, let's get over with it. Lead the way." Said Tony, following T'Challa to the meeting room. Bucky was sitting at the table, his hair was cut short and I have to admit he was very handsome. Somehow he looked familiar. Tony relaxed a bit after checking the room for Steve Rogers. Bucky stood up and slowly approached us.  
"Hi. You must be Emily. I just wanted to thank you for helping me and erasing the Winter Soldier program from my head."  
"That was no problem. I'm glad I could help."  
"Mr. Stark, I wanted to apologize again for the murder of your parents. I'm not expecting you to forgive me, but believe me, I am truly sorry. Thank you for hearing me out." Bucky started to walk out of the room, but Tony stopped him and extended his hand.  
"Apology accepted. I'm sorry I attacked you in the bunker." Bucky accepted it.  
"No need for that. It was a reaction we all would have had in that situation. You could have killed me there, but you didn't. You're a good man."  
"So are you. At least that's what the Smithsonian says."  
Bucky smiled as the men shook hands. Well, one problem solved, no idea how many to go. After a few minutes of chatting Bucky excused himself and left. Tony and I went to T'Challas living room where Thor and Nat were sitting. Some other people were behind the doors, spying on us. One of them was Clint, the other one Falcon and then there were three I didn't recognize. Bucky was nowhere to be found. I shared this information with Tony by patting his hand with my fingers. We sat down and Natasha started her interrogation.  
"How's married life going?"  
"I don't think anything has really changed. What about you, Tony?"  
"I think it's as nuts as it was before. The only difference… no, there's no difference. The party was great though. Oh, we have Rascal, but you knew that."  
"Rascal?"  
"Yes, we finally named the raccoon. It's female and named Rascal."  
"Well, your choice. What is the IPA up to these days?"  
"Just the usual. Hunting down criminals in the streets, helping out where we can."  
"Interesting. Tell me more, I'm bored here. Why are you going to Europe, again?"  
"Business, Natasha, boring business. One meeting after another, balls, conferences, maybe we could get one day off if we try hard. We have 4 weeks and more than 20 capitals to visit."  
"Don't forget we have to stop in London. You know, about those legal issues." Said Tony.  
"Yeah, I know. Where are the others, Nat?" I looked straight at Natasha.  
"They're out in town. Won't be back until the evening." She really was good. Unfortunately, there was no way to fool my nose. Slowly I walked across the room.  
"I heard there are some festivities today. Too bad we can't stay here."  
"Maybe another time. How does it look with the government back home?"  
"The hearing only starts next week. We'll see how they decide."  
"So you have no power over that? I thought you would."  
"I never had any power over it, Natasha. The only thing I could do was to get together all the facts and professional opinion, but that's about it. Write a report and wait what they'll do about it." While Nat and I were talking, Tony was shoving Thor how to use a mobile phone. My answers didn't satisfy Natasha's curiosity. She wanted to dig deeper.  
"But you do have a word in the senate, don't you? You're an ambassador."  
"I sure do, but not in everything that goes on. If I wanted to, I could be a figure in the shadow dictating every step they took."  
"How so?"  
"That's simple. I know too much. How do you think I got into those circles in the first place? Certainly not by being a good girl. They tried to turn me into a weapon, but they couldn't control me. If they could kill me, I'd be long dead, but they couldn't. The program was canceled after that, knowing no one would believe our army experimented on their own citizens. I decided to use my knowledge for greater good. The crime rate was rising so I thought it would be nice to help out those who deserve it, which is how my teams came to be. And the government? They crawled back when they needed my help. You can say that to the good old Captain." With one swift movement I opened the door. Five people fell down flat on their faces. "Or, you know what; forget that, I think he heard it. That's what you wanted to know and believe me, if I didn't want to tell, I wouldn't have."  
Tony was grinning in the back and snapping pictures of the Rouge Avengers as they were getting up from the floor. "Amused, Stark? Did you come to laugh at us, show off like you always do?" asked Wanda annoyed. I looked at Tony. He was keeping up his sarcastic façade. He was being unusually calm and silent.  
"What? No comeback to that? Cap, I think we scared him." Scott obviously didn't like Tony at all.  
"Scott, calm down. He didn't even say anything yet." Said Clint. It went unnoticed by Scott.  
"We're stuck here because of him. I haven't seen my daughter in almost a year. May I remind you that we ended up in a floating prison because of him. Do you remember how they treated Wanda or did you forget that Barton? Now he came to look down on us. Don't you see, he came to laugh into our faces." Scott was now leaning above Tony who was just sitting there, his hands connected by his fingertips. A big smirk emerged on his face as he leaned forward.  
"First if you think I came here to see you, you're lying to yourselves. I'm only here to accompany my wife while we drop her uncle off. You made your choice, don't even try to blame me for it. Second, there's something caught between your teeth. Dark green, did you have spinach?" Then he stood up and walked to me while Scott sprinted towards the mirror. "We should continue to Scandinavia. The weather is getting worse." I knew he wanted to get out of here. "S-Sure. Just let me say bye to Thor and we're good to go."  
"Alright. Sounds like a plan."  
We said bye to everyone, shared a hug with Thor and left for Oslo. Once we checked in and dropped the bags on the floor we realized that for the first time since our wedding we were completely alone. While Tony showered I unpacked our clothes and dried my hair. I was sitting on the bed when he emerged from the bathroom, his hair still damp and smelling fantastic. He threw the towel over the chair and jumped on the bad. His face was almost touching mine. I saw the passion in his eyes.  
"Now what?" I asked. We stared at each other for a few more moments before bursting into laughter. Once we were calm enough we rested our foreheads against each other. I looked into his eyes, brought my hand on his cheek and gently stroke it. He closed his eyes. I kissed him, his lips were so soft. The kisses became more frequent and Tony slowly put me down on bed. With his free hand he turned the light off...


	46. Family secrets

**Hi, people! I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm sorry, but I'll try to give you the next chapter faster. I'm working on a new story now as well, it's called My little girl aka Tony Stark as a single dad, happening before the Age of Ultron and no Civil War in that storyline. If you want to check it out, be my guests. Other than that, good luck at school (to those who still go there) and don't forget to have fun.**

 **Enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 46- Family secrets

It's been 3 weeks since we landed in Oslo. Ever since then we were stuck in events, meetings, debates, news debates, flying from country to country, sometimes crime fighting… Tony was enjoying the attention he was getting, but he told me the other day he'll be glad when all of this would be over. He knew I was stressed out, which is probably the reason I spent most of my mornings in the past 2 weeks with my head in the toilet bowl. I hate being in crowded places, there are so many sounds, smells, emotions… It drives me nuts. Plus everywhere we go, paparazzi and reporters hunt us down. That's the downside of being somewhere with Tony Stark. At least they don't know we're married.  
It was now Tuesday night, correction Wednesday morning, 3 weeks + some days later, and we were flying from Lisbon in Portugal to London. Why were we going to London again in the first place? Well, Tony's aunt, Peggy Carter, who died last year prior to the big mess we're still trying to clean up after, stated in her will that her actual will should only be read a year after her death. A bit chaotic, but also understandable. She was an agent and wanted to make sure that she was actually dead when they read it. Which is why Tony needed to go to London and I tagged along. Also, we were supposed to meet Sharon again, she's Tony's cousin. We met for short when we were in Berlin two weeks earlier, but this time she'll be coming back to NY with us. As to going back to NY, the president called yesterday. The senate decided to allow the remaining Avengers back to the states, with the condition the IPA would be babysitting them, or to be more specific, I would, along with my Avengers or any other team from the NY department. Under no condition will they be allowed to go on mission on their own for the next six months and they have to sign the accords of their choice and some other papers otherwise no avenging. T'Challa got the memo already. Tony was currently calling our boys.  
"…So, if you guys could stock up the fridge or something, that would be great."  
"Sure, we'll do that. How are you guys doing? Em still sick?"  
"Yeah, a little, but she'll be just fine once we're back home. Otherwise we're good. You?"  
"Fine. We kind of miss you. The house is just empty."  
"Yeah, earlier we were thinking how we grew to each other. It's weird. So Rhodey, what are you guys up to these days?"  
"Just the usual. Nothing big has happened here, we go on crime fighting missions, I was in Afganistan, Bruce and the other scientists blew up one lab at GNC, Vision is trying to cook. It's not edible yet, but it's getting better. Oh, and Happy probably told you how the kid saved the day."  
"Yes, he did. The guy's in prison now. So everything arrived, right?"  
"Yep, we have everything here, damaged or not. I can't believe you sold the tower."  
"Well, I had no use for it anymore. As the Avengers HQ it was in the centre of the city, which was dangerous for the citizens and as an office building, it was too big and we already moved the offices to the new complex next to GNC, so I can bother Em during work."  
"I bet she's glad to hear that. I'm gonna go, Fury wants something. Enjoy your stay."  
"Enjoy your freedom and tell the other kids we said hi."

"Sure. Bye."  
"Bye, Rhodes."

Tony finally sat down. The plane was steering itself, meaning we could do whatever we wanted to. That meant take a nap before the sun would come up.

London greeted us with sunshine. While I sorted out all the necessary paperwork, Tony went to rent the most expensive car he could get his hands on. He settled for the Audi SQ7, probably because we bought one back home before we left and he wanted to test it out properly. The experiment continued with him constantly bickering about the steering wheel being wrong, which was really amusing.  
The will was going to be read at 10, which gave us about 4 hours of free time. We stopped for breakfast and continued to the cemetery.  
"I miss her."  
"I know you do Tony, she was one incredible person."  
"That she was. I keep thinking about the last time I saw her. There was something different about it, the atmosphere, as if she knew."  
"When was that?"  
"Three days before she passed away. She said _Tony, find your happiness, something and someone worth living for, promise me you will._ I said I promise and she went on like _Good, now I can go in peace._ And then three days later we are arguing over the accords and I didn't even notice my phone buzzing. It was a message from the retirement home. _We are sorry to inform you, that your Aunt passed away this morning. She died in her sleep._ "  
A single tear rolled down his cheek. I can't believe he even memorized the text, but this is Tony. I took his hand and gently squeezed it, just to let him know I'm here. Words are unnecessary sometimes.

Aftera long walk through one of the parks we made it to the lawyers' office. The walk in the park helped settle my still upset stomach a little, which felt great. Could it be, that…? No, it's just the stress; my body tends to react like this. Sharon and Mr. Lawyer were waiting for us already. After the obituary speech the lawyer came to the actual will. Once Sharon's part was over (she got the DC apartment and some other stuff, I wasn't really paying attention) the lawyer turned to Tony, who was still wondering why he was here.  
"To Anthony Edward Stark I leave this letter, my ring and my old house. It was a gift from your father and today I want to give it to you. The letter will lead you to many places. Also, if somehow, someday Steve Rogers is found, give him this other stack. Another one is for Nick Fury, give it to him Tony. I'm proud of you, son. You grew up to be a great man."  
The lawyer gave handed Tony a box, which he took even if he doesn't like handed stuff. Once everything was settled all three of us drove back to the airport, loaded Sharon's stuff and took off. Sharon and Tony were going through their letters when Tony looked up.  
"What's wrong?" I asked. He looked really surprised by whatever was written there.  
"Nothing, I'm just thinking. I'll go check the… view at the front." Well, if this doesn't shout 'Weird' I don't know what else could. Obviously he didn't want to talk about whatever he read right now and needed space. Sharon on the other hand was smiling at the letter. 15 minutes later she was asleep.

When he wasn't out after an hour, I decided to find him. He was sitting in the co-pilots seat head bent down. I entered the cockpit and closed the door behind us. "Are you alright?" Tony at last lifted his head and looked in my direction. His eyes were red, but no more tears were coming out of them.  
"My whole life is one big lie."  
"Why would that be, hmm? You know you can tell me anything, right?"  
"Yeah, that's why I love having you around."  
"So, what did you find out? That is if you want to talk of course."  
"Aunt Peggy was actually my biological mother. My mother was alive all this time and all this time I had no idea." Alright, that I didn't expect.  
"Peggy loved you, Tony, whether she was your aunt or your mother. And I know for sure you loved her too. Why else would you visit her every Sunday?"

"Yeah, I did. She writes here that it was an agreement between my parents and her. Everything else we are supposed to search for in her old house and we'll be led to other places including some secret bases of SHIELD."  
"We? I can go with you?"  
"Sure, she actually wanted that too, see. _Take girl pal too, some places are too small for you to get through._ "  
"Sounds reasonable. You know, she did call you son in her will."  
"That she did. I'm not angry at her, if you want to know, it's just that… She actually wrote that she should have told me before despite my fathers wishes, but she didn't want to break the relationship I had with Maria, so no hard feelings. Why was it kept such a heavily guarded secret? Or how come Peggy was my mother in the first place? Did dad cheat on mom with Peggy? She wouldn't let him near her for all I know."  
"Yes, she mentioned something about only touching him with a long stick. I think 'why' is pretty obvious Tony, a child of two Shield founders would have been in a much bigger danger, than you were already in. As to the others, I'm sure Peggy left answers."  
"She did, all we have to do is follow the clues. But first, how come no one noticed anything?" "Maria and Peggy looked alike. Nobody looked for anything else. Mostly you resembled your dad, Tony. However, if someone had done a DNA test, the truth would have come out…"  
"…And no one ever bothered, because no one played with this possibility. That's a genius way to hide something in the plain sight. Are you ready for another adventure, Mrs. Stark?"  
"More than ever."  
"Good, because Peggy gave us an all-access pass to the sealed documents of SHIELD."  
Now this was going to be good. We landed at GNC and took the van back to the Avengers base. The boys were waiting outside the facility. From what they've told us, the former members of the Avengers were on their way here already.  
Tony wanted answers and once everything was unpacked and Nick got his letter, we got into the car, along with the entire team and drove to Peggy's old house. On the way, Tony explained what he found out.  
We found the safe in the basement behind a secret door. Several boxes with pictures and another letter were soon loaded in the van and after a short tour around the house we drove back to the facility. Going through the boxes we found that Peggy kept a diary that, from the very beginning, was meant for Tony to read one day. What we found was the first part of a story, entailing details from the life of Agent Carter after World War 2. Peggy started writing the diary or better called the autobiography on the day Tony was born, May 29th 1970. The first page however was about Tony's origin and newer than the rest.  
 _Dear Tony,  
if you're reading this, my time has come. I know I owe you an explanation you should have gotten a long time ago. Again I apologize for not telling you the truth earlier or not taking you away from your father when he had his bad moments. I should have, but taking you away would mean breaking Marias heart and I couldn't do that. She loved you very much and to her you were the biggest miracle, one she couldn't have on her own. I will start from the beginning.  
After your parents got married, they couldn't conceive a child. As it later turned out, your mother, Maria, couldn't have children. She was broken when they found out, couldn't stop crying for days. Howard, no matter how he was, couldn't stand seeing her like this. One day he came to me and asked for my help. He said I was the only one who looked like Maria and his only real female friend. After seeing how broken Maria was, I couldn't say no. IVF didn't exist at the time, so we went with artificial insemination. After several years of failed attempts we finally succeeded and 9 months later I gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Never in my life have I seen Maria happier than on that day. You were a really cute baby. Everyone believed you were Howards and Marias son, but when I look at you, even if you look like your father, those eyes and nose are mine, honey. _

_I know you have many questions and not enough answers yet, but I promise this will change. In these boxes you will find pictures and the first part of my diary. I hope you will like it. The next part, including your original birth certificate will be in the next part, which is located in a hidden vault inside the secret base called Playground.  
Have fun searching_

 _Love Peggy Carter_

While we were busy reading and looking through pictures in the bedroom (the boys were there as well), the Quinjet from Wakanda landed outside the HQ. Nick Fury went out to greet them.  
"Welcome back. My math may be wrong but isn't there supposed to be one more?"  
"Stark captured Bucky in Wakanda, we saw it. Where is that asshole now? Where is Bucky?"


	47. In search of Bucky Barnes

**Hey there! It's been a while since the last update, so a quick preview of what is going to happen here: team Cap is back in the USA and Bucky is missing. Now the Avengers, X-Men and the Wolf pack race against time to save him all while Tony is dealing with the aftermath of Peggy Carters will.**

 **Other than that, I will be rewriting the chapters from the first one, because this story could be written a lot better (let's be honest about that), but if any major changes occur, I'll let you know. Having said that, the first one will be about Emily and her powers: She now only posseses the healing factor, telepathy, telekinesis, empathy and manipulation of water. Anything else comes from the infinity stones - teleportation(which is basically just moving through space) and time travel. The other thing: Em and Tony got married (for the first time) in 1992, that is after his parent died, not in 1991 (it was supposed to be 1992 in the beginning, I have no idea why I wrote it like that). Yeah, so that's it for now.**

 **Have fun reading!**

 **In search of Bucky Barnes**

The boys left because of something Fury wanted leaving Tony and me alone. He looked beaten.  
"Do you want to talk?" He shook his head. "Is there anything I can do for you to make you feel better?"  
"No, I don't think so… Well, maybe, let us go for a walk. I need to clear my head." That was when I knew I had to try out this crazy idea I got earlier. The best part, I had everything I needed to make it happen right here. I grabbed my purse and followed Tony outside. We walked in silence for a few minutes when I finally got the balls to ask him.  
"You would like to talk to Peggy, don't you?" He stopped and stared at the sky.  
"Too many questions, no one to answer them. What do you think?" he didn't even look at me.  
"No need to get all snappy. I'm going to take it as a yes."  
"Sorry, it's just frustrating. Yes, I would like to talk to her, but unless she comes back from the death all of sudden, it's impossible."  
"In our time." "Huh?" "I said in our time. It was perfectly possible a year ago." Tony turned to me.  
"Yes, but she's dead now. I don't understand what you're getting at."  
"Well, when I saw you on the plane, you looked so lost and sad, so I got this idea about going back in time, so you could talk to Peggy. We could go right away, if you'd like." He stared at me as if I grew two heads. "So you want to break the laws of physics just because I'm sad."  
"Yes, pretty much." "I can't ask you for that."  
"You don't have to, I offered." "Okay then, let's go." "Sure, but first some basic knowledge. We can't disrupt the timeline, we just go to the retirement home, talk to Peggy and return to the point when we left here…"  
"…Like we weren't gone at all. Okay, anything else?"  
"Yeah, we have to be as inconspicuous as possible and avoid ourselves and the others. I double-checked already and that day when you went to visit her the last time. Basically we go before the past-you gets there." "Let's go break physics! Oh, I always wanted to do that!" "Take my hand then." I took the diadem out off my purse and concentrated on the time and place we were supposed to end up in. The portal opened invisible to anyone else's eyes.

 **Meanwhile with the Avengers (at the same time the conversation above takes place)**

"What's the emergency and why weren't we supposed to tell Tony?" asked Bruce as they entered the meeting room. Fury's eyes flew over the room, where the others were sitting. Among them was a very angry Steve Rogers. "Captain here claims that Tony kidnapped Bucky. The facts we have are that Bucky's gone and he was taken by a red and gold suit with a blue glowing centre. Stark was in Europe at the time, which is closer to Wakanda. We also know Em and Tony did take one of the suits with them, even if they did not use it in the end, at least according to the mission protocol. What puzzles me would be the motive. There was no reason for him to do that. Any ideas?" Before Bruce could answer Fury's question, Captain jumped in. "Stark hates Bucky, isn't that reason enough? Why are we still sitting here, I want to find Bucky and the only one who knows where he is would be Stark. Tell me where to find him."  
"No, not when you're in this state, Steve. I'll call Em, see if she can resolve this mystery. When did he go missing?"  
"16 hours ago. We searched for him, but he disappeared without a trace. We flew here, if he hid him it would be here."  
"She's not picking up. As far as we know, Tony was in London 16 hours ago." "As if he couldn't fly from London to Wakanda."  
"I'll text Em." Said Bruce as the big argument between the two sides began. Everyone who came from Wakanda was with Steve, they saw it happen, while the Avengers stayed loyal to their leader. Nick Fury chose to stay neutral and went over the facts again.

We watched the portal behind us close. Our little trip was a success, more or less. We kind of got lost on our way back and got tangled up in another adventure. Nevertheless, Tony looked much better.  
"Thank you, for everything. And I'm sorry."  
"Let's not dwell on the past. I'm glad it turned out the way it did and that we helped find someone else find happiness. And that we turned out the way we did." "Yeah, so am I." Our attempt at kissing was unfortunately interrupted - my phone went off. It was a message from Bruce: _Emergency, rouge Avengers back, angry Cap after Tony, Bucky gone. Come quick._ That didn't sound good. I looked at Tony who was watching over my shoulder.  
"Aaaand the good mood is gone. Bucky missing and angry Cap is bad combo, but angry Cap going after me? I'm afraid I won't be able to see our kid grow up."  
"What kid?"  
"Come one, you're constantly throwing up, you're tired, dizzy… Should I go on?"  
"While I admire your attentiveness, I don't think I'm pregnant. It was just stress. We were constantly in big a crowd, that's why I was tired. Blocking out all the thoughts, emotions, it's tiring. As for the nausea, the crowd again, but this time it's the smells. You wouldn't believe how much perfume stinks."  
"Yeah, I forgot that's why you don't use it. The dizziness?"  
"Low blood pressure, smells, not enough oxygen in the room, all that in a combination with stress. I'm alright now and I'll do everything in my power to keep you alive, don't worry."  
"Thank you, I guess. And well…I thought…You know what, let's just go." Wow, he sounded almost disappointed. Soon we arrived at the facility. The shouts could be heard from afar. Whatever went on in that briefing room wasn't good.  
Bruce was standing outside the door. "There you are. I called but you didn't pick up. Do you guys know where Bucky is?" We looked at each other. "No, why would we know that?" Bruce then gave us a short heads up about the situation.

The screaming in the meeting room got louder and louder, so I swung the door open. "That's enough, everyone shut up and sit down now!" They stopped and stared. In the background I heard Tony comparing me to Napoleon and Bruce trying to hold back laughter.  
"I said sit down, don't make me repeat it!" They took their seats, except Bruce and Tony, who were still in the hall.  
"Well done, now tell me what exactly triggered this mess. Short and clear." I looked at Cap.  
"Stark kidnapped Bucky. We want Bucky back."  
"Okay. When did it happen and what makes you think it was Tony?"  
"16 hours ago. Bucky was taken by a red and gold suit with a glowing circle in the centre."  
"Good evidence, but Tony and I were in London 16 hours ago. If you want witnesses, feel free to ask Sharon or those two lawyers that were with us. Then we flew directly to New York. Before that we hardly had time to sleep, flying to Wakanda was out of option. Now if this isn't enough supporting evidence, I can get you records of suit activity…"  
"They could have been altered."  
"...Do not interrupt me, Captain! Suit activity records or we could take a look at the Tony tracker."  
"The Tony tracker?" asked Bruce. "Em had me chipped after I returned from Afghanistan," answered Tony from the hall, all the eyes turning on him.  
"Show yourself, Stark. Or are you too scared?" I glared at Scott, who promptly shut up.  
"Well, all data are stored on GNC servers. They can't be altered or accessed from anywhere but the main server located at my HQ. I will have them sent over." The map of positions proved Tony's innocence.  
"Now that we cleared up this part, let's move on. Someone obviously took Bucky. We don't know who or why, but we have to get him back." said Fury. "I'll go to GNC and try to track him with the Globe. Then, depending on where he is, we'll assemble a big enough team, go and get him."  
"What do you want me to do, boss?" "Make sure they don't kill each other while I'm gone. Oh, if they want to take part in the rescue, they have to sign the accords first. Tony, have the Avengers ready for mission." I left before anyone could open his or her mouths to protest. Tony and his gang exchanged looks and went to gear up.

Not long after I had found Bucky. The signal was weak, as if he were underground. The location was a lot weirder. Sokovia. The big lake that was once a city. The place we had been getting strange energy readings from, but never found anything. Perhaps we should have dug deeper, literally. I entered the mission into the system as 'Weird activity accompanied by unusual energy signatures- check and solve', knowing no one would care anyway. WP1 was loading all the stuff, including an EMP bomb into the jet while I made one quick stop on my way to the airport.  
Soon we returned to the Avengers base. It didn't surprise me that the Avengers were all geared up and ready standing behind their leader. Natasha and the new addition in form of Clint, who already signed the papers, joined them. I descended the ramp and was approached by Nick Fury who gave me new inlet.  
"He didn't even hesitate. Falcon has mixed feelings; Cap and the rest are still against. They want to go anyway."  
"You know I can't let that happened. If they go, it will be me who pays for that. Big."  
"I know, the UN and our senate were clear. They shouldn't have made them your responsibility. I was the one that proposed the initiative, which is why I will do everything I can to keep them here."  
"Thanks, Nick. We will have the X-Men join us in Sokovia."  
"Go, this looks serious, the clock is ticking. The helicarriers are on their way already. Good luck boss!"  
"Likewise, Nick." I saluted and ran back up the ramp. It closed and we took off.

 **Third Persons POV**

Steve Rogers was looking out of the window of the facility. He saw the jet lift up. He wanted to follow them, find Bucky, but didn't know where they went. No one has told them, he knew the reason. The others who were with him were spread around the whole room. Clint signed the papers as soon as Nick put them on the table. He grabbed the ones called IPA accords. Falcon was reading them through aloud. Wanda found that she was not able to read any of the Avengers minds. The Shield stuff was out of question as well. Something was odd. Nick Fury entering the common area interrupted his thoughts.  
"Your rooms are like you left them. You are not allowed to leave this area or there will be consequences. Understood?"  
"Whose order is it? Why are you listening to the woman, she doesn't know what she's doing."  
"The order was mine and she knows exactly what she's doing. Now, she was even nice enough to allow you to watch the live feed from the mission. Again if someone didn't get it, you are staying here."  
"You know you can't stop us from leaving."  
"Maybe not alone, but I'm not. The people I have at my disposal can. Moreover, if you try to fight, you will be arrested and this time, no one will be there to get you out. You should thank this woman as you called her later. And Stark and the others as well. It is for the best Captain, we can't have you back in jail. There is a war coming, nothing like we've ever faced before. Now tell me what caused my team to fall apart?"

Most team members used the three-hour flight for a quick nap, right after the mission briefing. Soon they landed next to the lake. Everything looked normal. The monument bearing the names of the lost lives during the battle of Sokovia was reflecting the sun into the lake. Emily observed the surrounding. Nothing unusual on the surface. Jack approached her.  
"What are your orders?"  
"I need the jet in the sky to perform a complex scan of the area, Bucky should be here but according to the readings I got, he is somewhere underground. We might as well start walking around and search for an entrance. There has to be something here. How are we with the satellites?"  
"They're already in position."  
"Hellicarriers?"  
"One will be here in about 30 minutes as it was close by. The X-Men called, they will be here in an hour."  
"Very good. Let's divide into smaller units; it could make the search quicker. I'll take the jet."

Not long after, the Phoenix fighter was in the sky performing various scans of the Sokovia Lake and the woods. Three teams 5 people each were wandering around searching for anything that didn't belong there. "Avengers, Alpha, Delta, anything new?"  
"Avengers here, nothing unusual. My scans didn't show anything in our sector besides some steel cables, probably leftover from the city."  
"Delta here, no unusual activity detected. Some rubble is still present so everyone watch your steps. Delta out."  
"Here Alpha, we're getting strange readings from underneath one of the ruins. I believe found the source of our anomalies. I have a weird feeling about this place."  
"I'll be right above you in a bit, until then do not take further actions, just mark the spot." There was a moment of silence before Emily added: "Everyone return to the starting point, you're not going to believe this."

The gang was staring at the holographic projection of the scan. "How could we have missed something like this?" asked John not believing his eyes.  
"We've never had a scanner this powerful, no wonder we did. This here is 3 meters (10 feet) of vibranium steel alloy. It covers the whole bottom of the lake. The place you found seems to be some kind of shaft and according to this, it's about 260 meters deep. Whatever or whoever is down there had to be building this for years if not decades. There might be another way in and that here through the old sewers. I want to send a drone down the shaft; we can't just march in not knowing a thing. Get some rest till the X-men arrive, I have a feeling this is going to cost us a lot of energy."

The whole group along with the X-Men watched the drone cam in complete silence. No one expected seeing robots roaming halls. For Tony, Bruce and Vision it was well known. "Ultron. I thought we got him." said Tony leaning against the wall, not looking good.  
"I erased him from the net. I do not know how he survived." Visions words caused everyone to think. Emily answered the question floating in the air: "He must have created back up files. That's what I would have done, if I were an AI or whatever he is."  
"He was supposed to be the savior of mankind, instead I managed to create a murderbot."  
"Actually, you didn't. We looked into the Ultron program that you created. It shouldn't have worked, it was not supposed to. You yourself said you have given up on Ultron and moved to the Iron Legion instead. I can assure you it wasn't you, Banner or even JARVIS that created Ultron. At least not directly. Something else, however could have." said John, GNC's computer expert.  
"You mean it was the scepter?" "The mindstone, but yes. Besides if you hadn't been a victim of mind manipulation, none of it would have happened in the first place, so if anyone is to blame, it's not you."  
"Thank you, I guess. Now we have to get rid of him again. He probably already knows we are here anyway. "  
"He for sure does," said Emily "But I don't think we can get rid of him entirely, not until we find those backups and they can be in every computer in the world that has internet connection, for all we know he could have used phones, cameras, those Smart TVs."  
"So basically anything that can connect to the internet. In other words we're screwed. What do we do then, Em?"  
"Well, the main objectives are: Don't get killed and get Bucky. Then will blow this place up and see what happens. Remember, be brave to use your own brains and make sure no one gets left behind. We have 5 teams, Omega will stay on the surface and monitor the situation, the others, turn everything on. One last thing, if you feel like it's too much for you to handle, retreat and go back to the jet. We are 26 people here and I intend to leave with the same amount plus one. Alive. Let's go."  
The teams entered the sewers. Meanwhile on the other side of the world Team Cap and Nick began watching the live feed…


	48. Ultron 2

**Anyone saw Thor: Ragnarok already? I did and it was awesome. Don't worry, there will be** **no spoilers in this chapter or the next one or any until it leaves the cinemas** **. This chapter takes place after the events of Ragnarok with some changes, since Hulk is on earth. It will not be affected by the movie, but it has Loki in it.  
Oh, and rewritten are chapters 1 to 13 including the prologue.**

Ultron 2.0

"Welcome to the Late Show, I'm your host Tony Stark and today we'll be kicking ass. Also on the show tonight will be our special guest stars Ultron the second and Bucky Barnes, if we find him…"  
"Stark, shut up, will ya? You're making me want to rip my ears of and stuff them into your mouth." said Logan covering his ears because of Tony's screaming into the camera. That and with Jeans due date being any day now and a school full of kids he's had enough of it in the past weeks. Tony shut up; no one wants a grumpy Wolverine be even more pissed.  
Somehow they managed to get into the facility without any trouble, but that didn't mean it wasn't waiting for them later. The teams split up and began their search.  
The Ultron minions were already waiting for them, but that was no surprise. "Why didn't you bring Magneto, at least he'd be useful?" Em asked Logan as they proceeded to cut the robots in pieces. "Do you think I'm interested in being his personal floating toy?"  
"I'm just saying someone controlling metal would come in handy right now."  
They managed to defeat the first wave, giving Emily a chance to split from the X-men and search a different direction. Meanwhile both the Avengers and the WP walked into trouble of their own. While the WP only got to fight the minions, the Avengers stumbled upon more advanced Ultrons. Among them was one painted red and gold.  
"Look what we have here! The Avengers came to see us."  
"Yeah, yeah. We meet again… Tell us where Bucky is and we'll leave and blow this place." said Tony.  
"As amusing as it would be to watch the disappointment in your faces when you realize you can't blow it up, I won't be able to, because you'll be extinct."  
"What's with you and extinction anyway? Big fan of death?"  
"Stop stalling Stark, it won't help you or your friends." The bots started to run towards them. Hulk was ripping them apart, Rhodey and Tony were blasting one after another and Vision was using the mindstone to destroy the bots. After a while Emily showed up hitting all the bots into the wall with telekinesis.  
"What takes you so long? Come on, I don't want to be here all day." She started moving towards the corridor, the boys swiftly followed. They were running through the halls when Emily came to a quick stop: "Shit! I think we should take a different route." In front of them were hundreds of Ultrons with devilish red glowing eyes  
"Yeah, good idea." They started running back.  
"Go that way boys, I'll try to fool them."  
"Just don't forget to get out of here." "I won't now go." Emily looked back at the bots.  
"Hey assholes! Guess what? I'm better than you." The red eyes were all on her. She noticed that one Ultron looked different. He was taller, looked more human than the others. 

**Emily's POV**

"Well, well, if this isn't Starks housewife…" I raised my eyebrows.  
"What did you just call me you overgrown Siri?"  
"Oh, please. Don't compare me to something so low. I am past anything you whiny humans can ever build."  
"How can you be so sure? I mean you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Tony."  
"Do you really think Stark could create something like me? No, I am something greater. The mindstone created me. If it was up to Stark, I'd be working for humans, protect them, like his puppet. He would have done the same he did with my Vision."  
A portal opened behind Ultron and the God of Mischief stepped through. "I don't think I need to introduce you." Said Ultron pointing at Loki. Well, not exactly. According to my nose, this wasn't the Loki I met before. I stared at both Ultron and Loki, when Jack talked into the com.  
"We found Bucky, he's alive. The explosives are all placed on main pillars and Omega is ready to drop the EMP."  
"Good, drop our little friend." I whispered into the com. The Ultrons slowly began to come closer so I took a few steps back, knowing that once the EMP goes off, they will be doomed. However that didn't happen. A loud clang sounded through the room, something heavy just landed on the metal plate. The Ultrons looked up and when nothing else happened they turned their attention back to me. I started to run.  
"Hit confirmed. There are no robots coming after us anymore."  
"I hate to be the bearer of the bad news, but it didn't work. We wouldn't be able to use coms if it did. Get the hell out of here, everyone. No arguing, we'll meet at the surface. Time for plan B. Under no circumstance try to find me, understood? Oh, don't allow them to get out and let me know when you're in the jet."  
"Yes, boss. See you soon."  
The teams were gathered not far from the shaft they used to get inside. Once they heard metal steps in the distance they ran towards the exit.  
"Alright, we're at the jet." Tony said.  
"Good." I stopped at the crossroad. Ultrons were coming from all sides. Jack said the explosives were installed on the main pillars. If they went off, all of this will collapse and the metal plate will smash all the bots. And me, but that's collateral damage for a greater good. I'll find a way out somehow I suppose and is not, well, life was good. I pressed the detonator. The sound of explosions filled the space, dust and concrete flew in every direction. I was thrown into a wall, hit my head and lost consciousness. Someone pulled me up and held close. I blinked and opened my eyes. We were back on the surface and my savior was no one other than Loki, the real one this time. "How did you…"  
"Know you were in danger? I know a guy who can see everything. I couldn't let you die."  
"Thank you." "I'll stop by later at the compound." He said and disappeared behind the trees. I went after him, but he was gone without a trace. Sniffing the air for any trace of my fellow teammates, I found my way back to the lake. By the time I found them, the wounded ones were all on the helicarrier, leaving a small worried group gathered around the jets. I was spotted by Logan.  
"I guess we can scratch the search, look who decided to show up! Nice explosion, princess."  
"Thank you, Logan. I hope it served the purpose. That metal plate squashed everything down there."  
Logan wanted to ask something, but Tony ran up to me. "I thought I lost you. How did you get out of there? We watched it from here and you were far from the exit and…"  
"Stark, let her answer."  
"Yeah, right. So how did you get out?"  
"You won't believe me." "Try." "Loki got me out of there. He just appeared, took me and somehow we ended up on the surface and then he left."  
"Loki as in Thor's brother? The guy who only causes trouble? Turns people into babies and destroys cities in his free time? That Loki?"  
"Yes, that Loki." "How hard did you hit that wall?"  
"Pretty hard…I also got hit by flying concrete a couple of times. How is that useful information?" Tony and Logan exchanged looks. Yep, they thought I was crazy. "Just asking. The flying concrete damaged the camera, by the way. We lost signal after the explosion." "Alright. Let's just go home. We need a software to detect any back up Ultron could have possibly made and we need to find a way to distribute it worldwide."  
"How about you sit down for a while? You look pretty bad."  
"Well, thanks for the compliment. How is everyone?"  
"We have 8 people on the helicarriers in the med wing, nothing serious or deadly, everyone is alive and back in the states… tell her, Logan."  
"Jean had a girl. Her name is Rachel. One-eye fainted during the delivery. "  
"Awesome. Then we better get going." We walked back to the jets and after reuniting and picking up our wounded, we embarked on our journey home.  
After dropping of the WP at GNC, we flew to the Avengers HQ. Vision accompanied Clint and Bucky back to the HQ while the rest of us went straight to the shower and bed. Thankfully, it was Saturday, meaning no work. As in sleep as long as you want.  
Tony and I woke up around 10AM and the rest of the Avengers soon joined us in the kitchen. Still nobody believed Loki saved my ass. The gang left for the HQ later as Tony wanted to hand over Peggy's letters to Steve and the others just wanted to hang out. They told me to get some rest believing I was still recovering from my head injury and almost being buried under the Sokovia Lake and that I could join them in an hour for a briefing Fury wanted. I wasn't and just like every time something like this happened, I buried my feelings inside me and concentrated on the here and now. Not that it was a good method of dealing with things, but I didn't know what else to do. When they left I walked to the garden. The sky was blue, the grass green and everything was peaceful. It was however awfully hot, even if the breeze made it tolerable. I stopped at the lake, my favorite spot on the grounds. Lost in thoughts I didn't notice the company that appeared behind me. "On Asgard the water would fall over the edge eventually."  
"Loki! Don't scare me like that." I turned around to see Loki in a dark suit. He looked more like a businessman than a villain or god and damn hot. But he's my uncle and I shouldn't think of him that way.  
"I didn't mean to, not this time around anyway. I told you I would come around."  
"Yeah, I know. Thanks again for yesterday."  
"Now we're even. You saved me from Thanos. Anyway, I didn't come here to chat. Thanos is on his way here and you're not ready for the battle."  
"Could you be more specific?"  
"You're holding back. You are afraid to use your powers and the infinity stones."  
"I'm not." "Then why did you leave them behind yesterday?" Ok, so maybe he was a bit right.  
"But I used them before." "Yes, I am aware. It's still not enough. If you didn't hold back, I wouldn't have had to save you yesterday. You keep this up, we don't stand a chance."  
"Using those jewels, it tires me out. I don't think I could do more."  
"It only tires you out because a part of you concentrates on not using the full potential. The stones can transport you anywhere, not just the next big city, not a year, but centuries back."  
"So if I understand this correctly, you came to train me?"  
"Yes, and because Thanos will be here in two months we don't have much time. Oh, and could you tell Strange not to capture me so I can come in person. I would be grateful."  
I took out my phone and dialed Stephens number. He picked up after a few rings.  
"Hello, Dr. Strange here."  
"Hi, Stephen. I need you to do me a favor."  
"Anything for you. How may I be of assistance?"  
"Could you not capture Loki when he comes to Earth? At least while he's at the HQ?"  
"Why?"  
"He has new info and wants to help battle Thanos."  
"Fine, I'll make an exception. But if he does something it's on you."  
"Isn't everything these days? Thank you."  
"You're welcome. Bye."  
I looked at the Loki illusion. It disappeared and the real Loki appeared.  
"That doppelganger of yours I saw yesterday, was he from Thanos?"  
"A doppelganger? Yes, it might have been. I can assure you I had nothing to do with this Ultron. Thanos knows I betrayed him and that we are kind of allies, so he must be using it."  
"Yes, that would make sense. What is new on Asgard?"  
"I'm not its ruler anymore and the rest I'd rather not talk about. I am more interested in your mother and my sister."  
"So you know. Her name was Ylva, she lived in Norway for a long time. She was good, kind. She told me my powers were my legacy and that she would teach me someday, tell me about it, but… she was killed when I was 16. I never knew what she wanted to tell me."  
"I do. Heimdall told me she was a lot like Frigga, my mom and your grandmother. She wanted to teach you how to use your gift. I will take over what she couldn't do."  
"Loki, I know you're my uncle, but I'm confused by your motives."  
"I'm looking for a purpose. And I need your help."  
"Now we're being honest. With what?"  
"Saving our collective asses for starters, the other thing is not that important. Besides, you're family, still a child by Asgardian standards, and you remind me of my mother. She was the only one who understood me and I said some things to her I shouldn't have, then she died and this is me paying my debt. And I come bearing gifts." He pulled out the blue glowing cube and a laser gun. I'm still not sure which one was cooler, but I went after the gun first.  
"Wow, this is just awesome. You're welcome to stay as long as you want, by the way. Where did you get this?"  
"The gun or the cube?"  
"Start with the cube." "The vault beneath the palace. Thanos found the fake one. He never searched underneath the palace. Now the gun is from one of the planets I visited. I figured that perhaps that husband of yours could make us more like this."  
"You don't have to say husband with so much disgust. He'll be happy to, trust me."  
"I just think you are too young to be married, that's all." "You and I have a different concept of time. Can I try this out?"  
"Just press this." There was nothing to aim on, so I grabbed Loki and dragged him towards the shooting range. I located a target and shot. The target exploded into pieces. "That was awesome!"  
"I'm glad you're having fun. See, this is what I meant by loosening up. Be crazy."  
"Well, the others already think that I am. They think I hit my head too hard yesterday since I told them you saved my life. 'Get some rest, you'll be fine.' 'That was just your confused mind,' and so on."  
I reloaded the weapon and shot again, this time missing the target and creating a hole in the wall.  
"I believe we should go." "Yep, run."

Third Person's POV

Meanwhile everyone else was already gathered in the briefing room. They were going over yesterdays mission with Fury pointing to the screen which shoved the record from Emily's camera.  
"Alright, we know Loki was there with Ultron. Obviously he's not on the good side. We'll just assume he survived. It doesn't make sense for him to save Emily. None at all."  
"What about her being his family? That would make sense." wondered Tony aloud.  
"Does he even know about it? Besides he had no problem attacking Thor in New York."  
"Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on?" asked Bucky and Tony started to explain.  
"Thor and Loki had an older sister that was banished to earth because of something; she married and had a child which is our Emily. Emily is Thor's and Loki's niece. Thor and Loki never knew they had a sister. Thor found out from Heimdall and went to search for her, because his mother sent her the infinity stones to keep safe. Loki is probably unaware about her existence."  
"Where is Emily, by the way?"  
Tony checked the time, she should have been here already. "Perhaps she fell asleep. It's been a long day yesterday. Far too long."  
"Hey guys, Tony where did you hide the car keys?" said Emily marching into the room still holding a space gun. "What is that?"  
"A laser canon. I may or may not have blasted a hole into the wall while trying it out. The keys?"  
"What do you need them for?" "Driving a car perhaps?"  
"And where do you want to drive?" "GNC. I need my crown."  
"I thought we agreed on you taking it easy today." "No, you and the Avengers agreed, I agreed on a day off. Give me the keys, Tony."  
"No, you need to rest. I'm not letting you drive anywhere." "Fine, I'll take the jet." and with that she walked out. "Wait, that's not what I meant. Damn it." He ran after her but she just disappeared.  
Loki and Emily appeared before the GNC offices. "You know, you could have spared me the argument if you said we could use the Tesseract to go here." "It was funny to watch you."

 _ **Next chapter: The gang finds out about Loki's presense, Emily and Loki do mischief and train with infinity stones, Steve and Tony finally talk and the Avengers are faced with a deadline.**_


	49. The Trickster

Chapter 49- The Trickster

One swift move and the Tesseract in Loki's hand disappeared. Emily wanted to ask, but she decided to leave it for later. Together they passed through the gates of GNC and on their way to the headquarters of the IPA, they ran into Jack.  
"Hey, girl! Good to see you up and running. You too, Loki. Welcome to our little kingdom."  
"Good to see you two, Jack." Emily said returning Jacks hug. Loki looked a little confused by the friendly greeting, but shook Jacks hand anyway.  
"Don't look like that, Loki. You saved her life, of course we're glad to see you."  
"At least someone doesn't think I'm crazy." Emily let out a laugh.  
"No, we do. Anyone who does this job long enough must be nuts in their own way, but we know that a) you had to get out of there somehow, b) we've known you long enough to trust your words and c) you were the one who taught us not to jump to conclusions unless you have all the variables. Plus I'm just on my way from the labs. Your cameras receiver may have stopped working, but it never stopped recording. I mean, come on those things were made to withstand worse. We wanted to analyze the recordings, you guys in?"  
Loki and Emily looked at each other and nodded. An hour later they had the new footage decomposed to all viable details and were now listening to Loki. Emily used the time to withdraw the Avengers from mission rotation and write a speech to inform the IPA what was about to go down. Not long after she stood in front of the camera:  
" _My dear teammates! The day we all feared has come closer than ever. From the information we've gathered, we have a maximum of 2 months before Thanos comes to Earth. All information is on our servers. Notify your governments, let them know something is big is about to happen and make sure people don't panic. Our main priority will be to keep the inhabitants of our planet safe, but you know that already and I know you will do great. We don't know what exactly we'll be facing and I won't force anyone to fight if they don't want to.  
If this is my last chance to say something, then I'd like to thank you. Thank you for being the most amazing and the most inspiring people in my live. It's been a great honor to work with every single one of you and to have you on the team. Good luck."  
_John stopped the recording: "Okay, we have it. Man, I never thought this day would really come. Anyway, nice speech, Ems. We'll send it out within two hours." Emily looked around at her friends and sighed. "Thanks, well we better go back and talk to the Avengers. What I said earlier, it applies to you as well. I couldn't imagine having better friends than you are."  
"Aaww, you'll make us tough guys weep. We had the best boss ever. By the way, we have an idea."  
"What kind of idea, Jack?"  
"Let's throw a huge party at the Avengers compound. We got nothing to lose anyway."  
Emily shot him a glare and then said with all the seriousness in her voice: "Next Friday after work and you better be on time, fellas."

They reached the control centre. Now all she had to do was activate the Thanos protocol. She had feared the day she would have to take this step. The Thanos protocol launched GNC's space fleet into the orbit and further away from earth in order to spot the intruder in time. The entire fleet was remote controlled from the bases the ships were launched from. New York had 3: Stella, Andromeda and Vili. The rest of the fleet consisted of Galactica, Gersemi, Destiny, the Star Fighter, Prometheus and Celestia. Every single one of them was now getting ready for departure, some for their first time and for most it would probably be their last. The judgment day was coming and they had no way to prevent it.

Loki watched as Emily typed up command after command. To him she was the spitting image of her mother and grandmother. Both of them would be proud of what she grew up to be. He knew he was. When he first met her, she was only 3 months old. It's hard to believe how fast she grew up. He smiled when he remembered the tiny baby his sister made him hold. She had taken photographs of them as well. One of them he took back to Asgard with him and carried it around ever since. Somehow he always managed to hide it from everyone. He looked up again and saw that Emily had finished whatever she was doing and they were good to go back to the compound. The diadem was wrapped around her neck.  
"So, you ever drove in a car before?"  
"No, that I have not." said Loki.  
"Oh, you'll love it." The poor trickster didn't know what he got himself into.

Back at the compound, Tony was nervously pacing around the room. Emily was gone without a trace, the Avengers had been pulled off missions, there was a huge hole in the shooting range and for all he knew the God of Mischief was running around on Earth. As if that wasn't enough he was stuck with Capsicle and his minions.  
"Don't worry, she's a big girl, she can take care of herself. At least you just had your first big argument. That's a huge milestone." said Rhodey following Tony with his eyes.  
"Is that supposed to make me feel better? She just disappeared, Rhodey. I know she's probably at GNC, who else would pull our team off active duty, question is how she got there without a car or a jet."  
"Yeah, well. She'll come around and tell us eventually. Let the woman cool of, she left pretty pissed" said Fury looking browsing through IPA's documents. Tony's phone beeped.  
"Hey, it's Em. She wants to meet all of us at the lake."  
"Told ya. She just needed some time to cool off." Outside a spaceship landed and Thor emerged from it.

"Where do you keep this stuff?" said Emily circling Loki, whose color was slowly turning from green to normal, for the third or fourth time. He had given her her mothers battle attire back from the times she was still an Asgardian princess. It consisted of a silver colored cat suit with metal on the chest, knees and elbows, a sky blue cape and a silver helmet in the shape of a wolfs head. Between its ears there was space for the diadem to fit in.  
"That's none of your business. I found it on Asgard while roaming the palace a few years ago. I knew someday it had to return to Freya. Try it on."  
"Wait, my mothers name wasn't Freya. Her name was Ylva." Emily stopped and looked at Loki.  
"No, it wasn't. She was Freya, the goddess of peace. She only went by Ylva here on Midgard, which by the way translated into your language means she-wolf. Look at the helmet."  
"Why do I have the feeling you know a lot more about my mother than I did?"  
"I'll tell you everything, just try this on." Few minutes later Emily emerged from the mansion fully armored.  
"Well, how do I look?"  
"It fits." answered Loki pretending to be unimpressed.  
"I'll take it as a compliment. We have to get to the lake, while we walk, you'll talk."  
They started walking and Loki had no other choice but to start talking. He told her everything he knew:  
"Once when I was wandering around Asgard, I overheard my mother talking to Heimdall. She was asking about Princess Freya, Odin's daughter. He told her she was on Earth. So I started to investigate. I wanted to know why my older sister wasn't on Asgard. I didn't find anything. The next time I saw mother and Heimdall, mother send down this diadem. That was the day you were born. In the next months I spent my free time searching for a way to reach Midgard without using the Bifrost. The harder part was finding your mother here without attracting Heimdalls attention. Anyway, fast-forward to the meeting. You were about 3 months old when I met your mother. She was beautiful, kind and calm unlike Thor or Odin. She told me she didn't fit in on Asgard. Odin and Hela, her older sister, were keen on gaining power through war and over dead bodies and she couldn't watch it any longer. Before I left, I got to hold you for a while. Not voluntary, I had no idea how to do it, but Freya just decided I have to hold my niece. She even took a few pictures."  
"Wow, now this is something I didn't expect. Do you happen to have something to do with the book written in Asgardian language I have?"  
"Yes, that was on my next visit. You were 4. That was the last time I saw Freya. The next time I came, it was 14 years later, I found the castle empty. They told me the queen was murdered and the princess was probably dead as well. A few years later on Asgard, I heard Heimdall telling my mother you were alive and safe from harm. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find you again, until…"  
"Until you turned Tony into an infant and our paths crossed again."  
"Exactly. That's the story of how I met your mother."  
"Good one. Now that we're being honest, can I ask you one more question?" "If you insist."  
"Before you launched the attack on Earth, how much did Thanos torture you?"  
Loki stopped surprised by the question. "What do you mean?"  
"Oh, come on. A master strategist like you makes so many stupid mistakes? I'm not buying it. If you really wanted to conquer the Earth, you wouldn't have even bothered with 'tearing apart' a non-existent team like the Avengers. You lost on purpose."  
"Fine, you got me, but no word to anyone about it. He kept roasting me above a volcano for I don't even know how long it was. Now let's switch the topic or else I drown you."  
"Do you want to prank the Avengers?"  
"Keep talking…"

The Avengers now accompanied by Thor who was dropped off by the Guardians of the Galaxy earlier (Said they'd be back later, just had some business to take care of) finally arrived at the lake and they were late. Thor confirmed that he hadn't told Loki about his niece. Em was standing on the dock and Loki was hidden in the bushes.  
"Wow, look who decided to show up! Hey, Thor! What happened to your eye?" She knew the answer, Loki had told her everything that went on in the past weeks.  
"A battle injury. The new armor suits you, it almost looks Asgardian."  
"Thanks, Thor." Thor wanted to talk some more, but Tony interrupted him.  
"Emi, I'm sorry I was an idiot. I shouldn't have hidden the car keys. Are you still angry?"  
"Tony, you know I can't stay angry at you for more than 5 minutes." She walked towards Tony and hugged him.  
"Can we be put back on mission rotation?"  
"Darling, you don't really think our catty fight is the reason I pulled you out of there, do you?"  
"Well, maybe."  
"Actually it's why I called you here to talk. How about we sit down it feels stupid to stand in a circle. But you have to listen." Everyone sat down and turned their gaze at Em.  
"You kids have been pulled of rotation, because I can't risk you being injured when we need you. Thanos is on his way here and if we get lucky, we have two months to prepare for that. Any questions?" They stared at her. Fury was the first one to recover from the shock.  
"Yes, how do you know this?"  
"I have a very reliable source of eternal knowledge." With that, the Tesseract appeared in her hands.  
"How did you get that?" asked Fury. Before she could answer, Thor asked:  
"Where is my brother?"  
"I'm right behind you, brother." Said Loki, leaving his hiding place in the bushes.  
"Loki, what are you doing here?"  
"Just hanging out. Give me the cube back." Emily handed him the blue cube and he threw it into the lake. The Avengers looked horrified. Fury looked at him with a dead glare.  
"You moron, why did you do that?" Loki just shrugged and sat down.  
"Brother what has gotten into you? Have you gone completely mad?" asked Thor, shaking the troublemaker.  
The remaining Avengers just stood at the dock and kept looking into the water. It was too deep to swim to the bottom and pick the cube up. Loki exchanged a few looks with Emily and they both started to laugh…

 **Next chapters: Tony and Steve finally talk, Emily tries to turn the gang into a proper team, Loki gets his name cleared and Avengers meet the Guardians…**


	50. The Calm before the storm

**Hello everyone! Sorry for the delayed update, but I had finals. Anyway, we are slowly approaching the end, there will only be about 3 more chapters (maybe less, maybe more and one will be the epilogue). This chapter is a bit shorter, Tony and Steve talk, Loki and Emily make plans and… well, you'll see. The next ones will be more interesting I promise (for more information scroll all the way down).**

 **A bit thanks to all those who are still reading this!**

The Calm before the storm

 _The remaining Avengers just stood at the dock and kept looking into the water. It was too deep to swim to the bottom and pick the cube up. Loki exchanged a few looks with Emily and they both started to laugh…  
_ Thor threw Loki on the ground. The cube appeared on the ground next to him dry and undamaged.  
"How many more times are you going to fall for that, brother?" teased Loki as he dusted himself.  
"What are you doing here?" asked Thor not letting his eyes off the trickster.  
"Like I said, hanging out. I'm here for the kid." Loki answered pointing at Emily.  
"What does she have to do with it?"  
"Don't act like you have no idea. You know exactly who this is. Until now, you just didn't care."  
"Oh and you did?"  
"Yes, yes I did. I watched her grow up to her mother's image. From a helpless newborn to the most powerful creature, I have ever seen. Her mother, by the way, was the Asgardian goddess of peace."  
"If that was true, you wouldn't have attacked Midgard."  
The others nodded agreeing with Thor, only Tony seemed lost in thoughts.  
"No, I think he's telling the truth." Murmured Tony and then turned to Loki: "Winning the Earth was never your plan, was it? You wanted to be stopped. Emily was on the other side of the planet when the attack started. That's how you planned it. In case we failed, there would still be someone there to stop you."  
"I'm impressed. The only realm I ever wanted to rule was Asgard. I had to get the mind stone away from Thanos but at the same time, he had to think I'm on his side. Unleashing the Hulk on the flying fortress of yours was not part of my plan, but I have to admit it came in handy. Now let's get down to the important stuff. Thanos is on his way here with an army and we're running out of time…"

Few days have passed since the encounter. Although everyone was giving their best to stick together, the teams were still divided. The Guardians of the Galaxy flew back to space after exchanging all vital information (among other stuff). It is hard to tell who was more freaked out the day they met:

 _A spaceship landed in front of the HQ. Thor hadn't exactly told them who the Guardians were. No Avenger expected a talking tree or a talking raccoon. After some basic introduction the group moved to the meeting room to exchange info. Tony kept looking between Rascal (the female raccoon Tony brought from Japan) and Rocket, or talked to Rocket. Teen Groot was playing on his phone or something like that. Rocket was both disgusted and impressed. Disgusted with Rascals low behavior and impressed by Tony's intellect. Those two sat down for 'a few' drinks before they left. Plus Rocket was eying Bucky's arm for some reason… Cap wasn't sure where to look first, Vision kept his poker face on. Emily and Fury acted professionally and managed to avoid any conflicts between the parties. The fact that both groups were a bit alike might have helped. So after a whole day of chatting and once they managed to get Rocket and Tony away from the bar, the groups parted ways knowing they would meet again. The Guardians would now go to Knowhere and try get the purple power stone before Thanos. That is if he doesn't have it already…_

 _Dr. Strange returned to the Sanctum. After what he'd heard, he too knew they were very close to losing everything. Steven looked out of the window into the streets. They looked peaceful, no person out there knew what they were about to face and to be honest he wasn't sure either. Strange looked down at the Eye of Agamoto, he knew that he had to protect it from the threat._

It was now early morning and Emily was training with Loki outside.  
"If they don't talk it out, I don't know what else to do with them. Cap won't admit he made a mistake and Tony feels betrayed."  
"So that's what it's about? Have you tried locking them into the closet?"  
"I thought about that, but I'm afraid they'd attack each other. Plus, Tony tends to get claustrophobic and that ain't good."  
"What about a bigger room with surveillance? If something happens, we could always step in."  
"Yeah, we could try that."  
"Now, we need a backup plan. What if everything else fails?" asked Loki as Emily dogged the dagger he threw at her. She knew he wasn't talking about the Tony/Steve issue. The doomsday was coming.  
"I have one idea…" Loki listened carefully. The plan Em came up with could work, but it would come with great sacrifice.

With the help of all the Avengers Emily and Loki finally managed to lock Tony and Steve into one room. It one of the rooms in the new mansion. "We're not letting you out of there until you talk it out. Water's on the table." She said and sat down in the living room with the others. An hour later Steve finally said something.  
"You never called."  
"You said to call when I needed you."  
"I see. You have a new team, found new friends…"  
"I had them all along. At least they won't betray me and then claim it was all my fault. I didn't tear the Avengers apart, Rogers, that's on you."  
"You shouldn't have signed the Accords."  
"Then you shouldn't have proven them necessary. Remind me how many people died on your heroic quest? The ones in Romania, those on the Raft, Lagos, Berlin… Should I go on? They were just doing their jobs, wanted to return to their families in the evening. I'm not even going to get started on the amount of other damage. I signed them because it was the right thing to do and so did the others. We could have solved it together, but you were just being an idiot."  
Steve wanted to argue, but he realized that Tony was right.  
"I'm sorry, Tony. You were right. Can you forgive me?"  
"For the sake of the world let's say yes, but I won't forget."

Night has fallen upon the mansion. Most of it's occupants were getting ready for bed. Emily was sitting on her bed when Tony walked in and slowly closed the door.  
"Was it that bad?" he asked as he climbed on the bed.  
"What exactly?" she said turning her face to him.  
"Me and Cap."  
"Well, the tension between you two was undermining any progress in teamwork, besides negative energy isn't good. We will have enough of it in the near future, so we should probably try to enjoy the time we have left."  
"Yeah well, you're right. Come here."  
They held each other till the morning came. Little did they know they didn't really have 2 months left and the end would come a lot sooner than they expected… 

**Next up: Tony's birthday party gets crashed by Thanos? Just kidding, but it could be interesting…**

 **Alright, here's the real thing: Tony's birthday wish, Thanos shows up on earth and the battle to save humanity is here...**


	51. A sunny day in May

Chapter 51- A sunny day in May

In the morning of May 29, the Avengers facility was buzzing with life. The birthday boy was still asleep, while the others were busy decorating one of the hangars. Tony didn't know there was going to be a party, it was supposed to be a surprise and therefore it was Emily's mission to keep him occupied and far enough from the facility.  
Friday alerted the crew that Tony was waking up. This was a sign for Emily to get to the mansion ASAP. When she got there, Tony was still in bed. He was lying on his side facing the door and pretending to be asleep. Emily looked around. The bedroom was a complete mess after their pillow fight last night. Tony had started it, as he wanted to tease her. Em smiled at the memory and spotted her weapon on the ground. She picked the pillow up and threw it right into Tony's face.  
"Ouch! What was that for?"  
"Good morning to you, too, darling."  
"Yes, I love to be woken up by a pillow landing in my face, thank you very much."  
"Oh, come on. You weren't asleep."  
"You got me." He said raising his hands in surrender with a sweet smile forming on his face.  
"Now, get up and dressed. We've got a long day ahead of us." Em said as she walked out of the room.  
"Wait what…?"

An hour later, Emily was behind the steering wheel of their SUV waiting for Tony to come out of the mansion. When he finally emerged, he still had a confused look on his face.  
"So, where are we going?"  
"I won't tell."  
"Not even a hint."  
"Nope."

After a 2-hour drive they finally stopped on a cliff, far away from NYC. Tony looked around. There was no building in sight, no noise, no stress, nothing besides them. It was so calm, peaceful.  
"So, what is this place?"  
"A cliff."  
"Well, no shit Sherlock. I noticed that. Why are we here?"  
"To forget about everything for a while… Everyone is so stressed out lately, I just thought…"  
"Nice idea. The view is really great here." Tony looked around, staring at the ocean. It reminded him of Malibu. He then turned to Emily and said: "You asked me last week what I wanted for my birthday. I wish we weren't preparing for a war we cannot win. I wish we had more time for just us, have a family, kids on our own. I'd make them their own suits. Imagine that."  
"The kids in suits is a bit much, dear, but the rest is nice to imagine."  
"It is. That's all I want. For once everything would be ok."  
"Yeah, that would be great."  
"We should be heading back, I'm sure everyone is ready by now. It's party time, darling."  
"Wait! How do you know about that? Who talked?"  
"Let's say Bruce and Peter are not as quiet as they think and if my head in on the table it doesn't necessary mean I'm asleep."  
Back at the compound, Loki was **not** being helpful. He was bored and a bored God of Mischief meant everybody else had to deal with his tricks and pranks. Which is how Clint ended up with a bucket on his head, Bucky had fridge magnets all over his arm, Natasha had flour in her face and Cap was dressed like the Statue of Liberty (Loki's magic)… The only person safe was Bruce, merely because the memory of Hulk still scared the crap out of Loki.  
On their way back, Tony and Emily stopped by at the GNC compound, because Em needed to sign the executive rights over to Jack. The duo arrived and Tony got captured by one of the teams in order to congratulate him. Emily made her way up to the office.

Emily's POV

I opened the door to my office as I've done a million times before. This time, it just seemed so different. Perhaps it was those boxes on the floor, filled with pictures I used to keep on the bookshelf, or that this was my last day. I walked over to the window to take in the view one last time. In the park, kids were playing, running around, while their parents watched over them. Watch over them… over all of humanity, keep them safe and yet everything is slowly coming to an inevitable ending. Did we fail? We tried so hard and yet it seems it was useless. I sat down on the floor, still facing the window.  
People say that at some point of life, everyone looks back to see what they had done so far, what they'd been through and how they got to this point. So here I am sitting in my office, staring out into the world, knowing it will never be the same again, no matter if we win or lose. In my life, I've fought many fights thinking it would once be over. But it never was and now I know it was never supposed to be. It's funny how all of our choices, no matter how stupid or meaningless they seem at the time can define our future. Had my mother not shielded me that day, she'd be still alive and I'd be the one dead. Had Odin told Loki from the beginning he was adopted he wouldn't have gone nuts, encountered Thanos and attacked NY. If Loki hadn't attacked, the scepter would have never gotten into the hands of Hydra and there would have been no Ultron. If Tony and I hadn't broken up, we could have had a kid in college by now… All I've lived through defined what I am today – the wife of Iron Man, a friend of the Avengers, the soon-to-be-former CEO of GNC, the leader of the IPA and a princess that kicks ass and will do anything in her power to keep the world safe.  
Jack finally opening the door broke my contemplating.  
"Hi, there! You ok?"  
"Yeah, I was just thinking. Where do I sign this?"  
"Right here…"

Third Persons POV

Em met up with Tony in front of the building. She was carrying the box with her stuff and he had a bottle of whiskey in each hand, courtesy of the guys.  
"Well, there will be no shortage of drinks tonight."  
"How much did they pour into you?"  
"Just 2 shots."  
"Alright, get in. It's time to go home. Do me a favor and pretend you have no idea about anything."  
"I'm confused, what am I supposed to have no idea about?"  
"That's my boy."  
They arrived at the mansion and got their stuff out of the car. As Em passed him carrying the box, Tony spotted a picture that caught his attention. "You had this in your office the whole time?"  
"Yeah, in the drawer. I used to look at it, just to remember the times life was simpler."  
"They were. I did the same. Pepper better not see this, I don't want to die on my birthday."  
"Then go ahead and hide it." Tony gladly snatched the wedding picture away and ran to their bedroom.

Some minutes later, they walked down to the hangar. Everything looked normal on the outside. They opened the big doors and everyone yelled "Surprise!" as the light filled the area.  
Em and Tony burst out laughing at the view of the pranked Avengers, now adding Fury dressed as a pirate, Falcon as a chicken and many others (just imagine whatever crazy thing you can come up with, for fun). Loki appeared out of nowhere and handed Tony a drink: "Well, Stark. Happy Birthday! You lived another year."  
Everyone, but Em and Tony, glared at Loki. "You did that?" asked Tony looking between Loki and the victims.  
"What can I say, I'm the trickster. Now, I believe we wanted to celebrate…"

.

 _.  
"Humans, half of them must fall to bring balance to the universe…" _

**Who else is excited for Infinity war? The trailers look scary as hell…  
So, my intention is to finish the story before Infinity was hits theaters. This chapter was a bit lighter before the fight begins. It also refers to the prologue of the story (Emily in the office scene), so the circle closed. I will leave the Avengers party open to your imagination; just imagine whatever makes you happy.** **Have a nice day and thanks for reading!**


	52. Divide and Conquer

Divide and Conquer

It started out as a normal day. The sky was clear, birds were singing, people were roaming the streets of New York City. Tony, Emily and Bruce found themselves inside the house located at 177A Bleecker Street. The Sanctum Sanctorum provided a good place for a friendly chat for Stark and Strange, as Tony wanted to show Strange his new nanotech based suit, while Bruce and Emily got to wander around the sanctum and listen to Wong talking about various artifacts they kept there. After a while, the three returned to the room they left Tony and Stephen in. Tony had one hand raised and was talking to Dr. Strange:  
"Come on."  
"No!"  
"Come on, you can do it!"  
"I told you, no."  
"Aww, just this once."  
"Fine…" said Dr. Strange and high-fived Tony.  
"Awesome facial hair bros."  
Bruce and Em couldn't contain their laughter anymore and gave away their presence.  
"I hate you." Growled Strange and Tony just grinned.

Emily's face suddenly grew serious. Her heightened senses picked up something she never sensed before. She ran down the stairs with the guys following swiftly. Through the glass door they saw people running down the street in panic. Tony ran up closer to the door and opened it. The others joined him in the doorway. They looked up and spotted the source of panic. A giant ship and about 3 smaller ones were hovering above the centre of the city.

Back in the HQ, the crew was training when Rhodey suddenly stopped mid air.  
"Guys, I think we have a problem."  
"What? Are you out of… Oh shit!" Falcon exclaimed as he spotted the intruders.

Down in the city Em, Tony, Bruce, Wong and Strange stood frozen in the middle of the street as the big ship came crashing down. Dust filled the air and rubble was flying in every direction. Even those 20 blocks away everyone could feel the impact. The earthquake caused by it made everyone lose their balance and fall to the ground.  
When the dust settled Tony slowly looked around. It looked exactly like the nightmare he had a couple of nights ago. Now he was watching it become reality. He couldn't breathe, his heart rate was far beyond normal and he felt like he was going to die any second. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw his wife. She looked worried.  
"Tony, we have to go." She said pulling him of the ground.  
They were running towards the ship, but had to stop mid-way, when they saw Thanos' forces walking out of the dust. Tony decided it was definitely time to suit up and his armor started to appear from the arc reactor embedded in his shirt. Soon his whole body was covered in armor. Meanwhile Bruce had turned into Hulk, Emily had unleashed her claws and Strange with Wong were shielding them with their magic shields. They figured the objective of the forces was to get the eye of Agamoto and they knew they wouldn't give it up without a fight.

Back in GNC, teams were departing to help out in the city. The base was in chaos, no one really knew what was happening and even Loki looked confused. On top of that, they couldn't get in contact with Em, or really anyone else in NY. The only working line was between GNC and the Avengers HQ and that only because it was underground. Jack had just gotten off the phone with Fury. The Avengers couldn't get in touch with any of their teammates either. They were now on their way to the city and would drop Fury off. Some of GNC's satellites were still working, so they decided this would be the center of their operations.  
Thanos had caught them all off-guard. He came so fast they didn't have time to launch any defense, definitely not to evacuate the civilians. How he slipped past their defense was a mystery, but now was not the time to try and solve it.

Down in the city the crew of 5 managed to fight off the first wave of aliens when the main ship started to rise. Em noticed a red dot on it, one that wasn't there previously. The dot was moving, she focused a bit more on it and managed to catch a glimpse of blue. She then realized what or rather who it was: "What the heck is Peter doing up there?"  
Everyone else shifted their attention on said ship. Tony flew up and started to follow it. Emily didn't even try to stop him. She knew Tony would do anything to keep Peter safe. He was like a son to him. Hell, he was like a son to her, too. Peter would come around every other weekend or when he had time to spare and he'd hang out in the lab with Tony working on suit updates. Now was not the time to think about the good old days as another wave of aliens was approaching.

Tony was trailing after the ship at maximum speed, but he was unable to reach it. He then saw something red and blue fall from the huge vessel.  
"Peter, no!" he shouted and changed course towards the falling Spidey. He finally caught him and ordered Friday to check his vital. Pete was still alive, but unconscious.

Tony located his team next to the rubbles of what once used to be the Avengers Tower. Osborn Corporation had bought it earlier that year and one of the alien vessels had decided to knock it down. He landed next to it holding Peter in his arms. Emily emerged from under the rubble.  
"How is he?"  
"Unconscious, but alive. What's the situation here?"  
"Strange, Wong and even Hulk are all wounded. We can't fight like that, we have to get out of here. Peter needs a doctor, too."  
"Agreed. We parked in front of the sanctum, right?"  
"Yes, but there's no way we'd get to the car and even if, a building fell on it, so it would be a waste of time and energy. We don't have that now."  
"Any luck with a jet?"  
"I saw a few of mine flying around, but they're too far and there is no way to contact them."  
"And I thought they suit was damaged… So all lines are down. Now what?"  
Emily was about to give him some kind of answer, but she was interrupted by Dr. Strange:  
"I know a way…"  
"Are you up to it?" asked Emily knowing damn well Strange took a few bad hits.  
"Of course I am."  
With that, Strange opened a portal to the GNC base. He helped Wong up, Tony carried Peter through and Emily helped Hulk who had meanwhile shrunk back to Bruce.

Although the base was protected by a force field, it didn't mean they weren't affected by what was going on in the rest of the city. Jets were landing and taking off some bringing teams to and from the battle, not just GNC but Shield as well, others were busy evacuating civilians to other bases.  
Upon their arrival to the main building the guys were dragged away by the medical personnel, while Emily met up with Jack and Fury, who were doing their best to keep everything from plunging into total chaos, in the control room.  
The second Jack spotted Emily in the doorway, he threw himself at her:  
"Thank god you're alive. How are the others?"  
"That depends. Strange, Wong and Bruce are all wounded badly, Peter's unconscious and we have no idea what happened to him and Tony's got a few scratches and bruises and is watching his worst nightmare come to life."  
"What does it look like down there?"  
"People panicking, buildings destroyed, it's way worse than the time Loki's army stopped by. What about here?"  
"Well, we sent Vision, Bucky, Natasha, Rhodey and Wanda to Wakanda in each case. Better not to keep the stones in one place."  
"The Tesseract?"  
"Underground."  
"The dimension stones?"  
"Oh, crap… They're still at the mansion."  
"I'll go and get them, you guys stay here."  
"You can't go there alone. What if he's there?"  
"Try and stop me. If I'm not back in two hours, he was there."  
With that she left for the mansion.

In the city, the Avengers and the Guardians who had meanwhile joined them were fighting off more aliens. Fury had informed them their teammates made it back to the base. At least they could stop looking for them and focus on the aliens. Those were coming from all directions. Apparently they didn't like the resistance. Then at one point, the ships took off.  
"I don't think they're interested in us." Stated Sam.  
"They are after something more powerful, the Time stone, the Space stone, the … oh shit."  
"What is it, Loki?"  
"We left the dimension stones at the mansion. With them, it's pretty easy to locate both the Time and Space stones. Even through that damn force field."  
"Does he even know they exist?"  
"How am I supposed to know that? I'm not a witch."

Fortunately for Em, the mansion was empty and no alien was in sight. Thanos obviously wasn't interested in her little gems, he wanted the big ones, the ones that fit his fancy golden glove. She also knew he'd be on his way to Wakanda now. Hopefully Vision and the others were already there. This way they'd at least have a chance.  
By the time she returned, Strange and the rest of the crew had been released from the medical wing. Peter was up and running again. He was questioning everyone about what had happened and doing his best not to freak out.  
The Avengers and Guardians too had returned from the city. Now they needed a plan.  
"We know where Thanos is headed next. We should go there, too." Said Em pointing at the map.  
"Agreed, Wakanda is our best bet. How do we transport the stones?" asked Clint sharpening his arrow.  
"We won't, we'll separate them. If his forces aren't concentrated in one spot, we stand a chance. Divide and conquer."  
"The Guardians, Thor, Sam, Ant-Man and you Clint will stay here with the Tesseract, the rest of us take a jet to Wakanda. T'Challa's expecting us already. We have to get there before the purple guy does." Said Steve.  
"Sounds like a plan. Just what if he finds us." Asked Quill.  
"We'll fight."  
"I was actually thinking more between the lines of throwing the cube into the Mariana trench." Said Emily.  
"How about we just give it to him? We know how good your plan worked so far, now we'll follow my plan." Em had to admit that part of it was true, their warning system had indeed failed them.  
When they group left, Scott turned to the others: "We're screwed, right?"  
Everyone just nodded. They knew they couldn't last forever. Thanos on the other hand seemed to have an endless army that did not take long to make an appearance…  
They'd tried hard, fought against them, but in the end it was just too much to handle. Thanos had acquired the space stone and snapped it to his glove. It turned out he wasn't on his way to Wakanda at all, just hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The Guardians, the Avengers, the teams of the IPA and the agents of Shield had all fallen. What remained of New York was nothing more than a big pile of rubble.

Upon their arrival in Wakanda they were greeted by T'Challa.  
"Good to see you arrived safely."  
"Yeah, it wasn't a bad flight." Said Em.  
"I'm afraid I have bad news for you. We have lost New York."  
"What do you mean lost? Like lost contact? There's a bit of trouble with the connection there…"  
"No, Emily. We lost them. There is no more New York. Our satellite sent pictures about 30 minutes ago. There's nothing there, just rubble. They could still be alive, but the chances are pretty small."  
Emily covered her mouth and tears filled her eyes. The remaining Avengers just stared in shock. This wasn't how they expected it to play out. 

Using the time they'd left, Em and Tony were watching Wakanda's army lining up in front of the palace. Their friends, teammates, were gone, murdered by a psycho purple titan.  
The couple knew it was probably their last chance to talk, so they used it.  
"This is not how I imagined spending the afternoon."  
"Yeah, well. It could have been worse, Tony."  
"How exactly could something be worse than facing armagedon-guy here knowing we'll all be dead soon anyway?"  
"Ok, you've got a point here. It couldn't, I just thought that we could be all dead already, but now it seems like it'd be the better option."  
"So, what now? We could still do your plan and throw the stones into the ocean. It might not stop him, but at least he'd lose a lot of time getting them out of that trench."  
"Too late for that, he'd follow us. I hate to say this, but we're losing."  
"I know. So, this is it then. It's all been leading to this. I can't believe it."  
"Me neither. At least Shuri made sure Vision would be ok without the mindstone."  
"That kid's truly brilliant."  
"She is. We should be going, join the others."  
"Yes, just one last thing…"  
Tony leaned in and kissed her gently.  
"I love you, Tony."  
"Love you, too, Em." 

They watched as Thanos's ships landed in front of the force field releasing an army of thousands of aliens ready to destroy everything and everyone in their path. The army regrouped in smaller sections in front of the force field.  
On both sides of it the warriors were ready for battle, ready to fight for what they believed in. In one case it was murdering half the universe, in the other it was to save it. A loud noise filled the area. The aliens had breached the barrier…

It had been a long battle with causalities on both sides (not that Thanos was bothered by it, he had gotten the mind stone after all). Captain America, Iron Man, Spider Man, War Machine, Scarlett Witch, Okoye, Black Widow and many more were gone. The last ones standing were Emily, T'Challa, Hulk,Vision, Loki and Dr. Strange. They were exhausted, they'd lost everyone. The army surrounded them and as if that wasn't enough, Thanos walking towards them with a victorious grin, knowing he had won.

Emily exchanged looks with Loki and Strange. They knew they had to try it, try their back up plan. It was now their last chance. They had to send warnings to the past and reset the timeline at the same time.  
The Eye of Agamoto lit up and so did the dimension stones as Loki, Emily and Strange held onto each other. All of their powers combined in addition to the infinity stones started creating a green energy sphere around them. Thanos took a step back wondering what these tiny humans were trying to achieve.  
The sphere grew gathering all the energy from the individuals and the stones they had and soon it started sucking the energy from the stones on the gauntlet as well. As the trio grew weaker, the sphere grew bigger and stronger.  
Once they were sure they managed to deliver the warnings to the ones and at the right time they meant to. They released the sphere. The energy release destroyed everything in a matter of milliseconds. Now there was nothing, just empty space. Time started turning back…

 **That's it. That's the end…I apologize for the lack of fight scenes, but I really suck at writing them.  
Just some info about this chapter:  
Yes, the X-men are in NY too, they were helping in the city  
Wolverine survived, it's Logan, come on…  
He and some other survivors were saving people from under the rubble, including some Guardians and Avengers (No, not all of them died, but some…)  
The back up plan took up all of the trio's power and energy and they had to be close to Thanos for it to work in the first place**

 **That was the last chapter of the story, the short epilogue is on the next page…  
Thank you all for reading…**


	53. Epilogue

**To get the timeline straight: Iron Man: 2008-2009; Thor, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2: 2010; Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World: 2010, Captain America: The Winter Soldier: 2012, Avengers: Age of Ultron: 2014  
(Civil War +Spider Man: Homecoming: 2018)**

 **Epilogue**

 **2010, New York City, Day of the attack (before the attack)**

The crew of GNC had evacuated the city of NY and was now waiting for the start of the show. This was a battle that needed to be won by the Avengers (or lost on purpose by Loki, whatever came first). Without it, there would be no Avengers. However, their job wasn't done with this. They had to capture Loki, get the scepter and the damn cube to prevent a whole number of catastrophes.  
Loki knew this time he wasn't alone in this whole show. He had warned his goddaughter, Emily, in advance. He knew there'd be no civilian casualties this time and if the scepter was kept away from Shield, no Ultron either. They still had to put an end to Thanos. End his war before it begins… It would be no easy task to fulfill, but if they worked together, they could do it.

Loki watched Iron Man approach the tower. The battle was about to begin, once again…

 **Who the messages (warnings) were sent to:**

 **Loki …. 1893 meet his sister** _ **  
**_ **Freya…1896 make Loki Em's godfather** _ **  
**_ **Loki …..2010 warn Em about the attack  
Emily 2010 get the scepter to prevent Ultron and help Loki destroy Thanos (army optional)  
Tony 2014 don't build an Ultron (in each case)  
Bruce 2014 really, talk him out of it (failsafe)**

So, that's it folks. That's the end of

 _ **Through the Wolf's eyes.**_ **I hope you enjoyed it, forgive me for my mistakes (there's quite a lot of them in there) and writing (it was horrible, I know that) and thank you very much for your support.  
*Just saying but I might write a sequel to this thing in the new timeline with no civil war, no Ultron, some Nat and Clint flirting and Em and Loki teaming up (with the Avengers, maybe).**

 **In the mean time, stay strong for Infinity war, my friends. I'm already looking forward to it and I'm scared as hell at the same time.**

 ****Situation update: Infinity war was awesome and caused trauma. Sequel undecided, but there will be a spin off called _Second Chances_ to mz other story that could double as an alternate timeline sequel to this story as well (a.k.a If thing were different, how would it go)...**

 **Have a nice day and don't forget to keep smiling… (If for no other reason, I found it can piss people off, no idea why, but it does…)**


End file.
